By: Zoe Crimmel
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
In my eyes, the plastic crisis isn't just the plastics we see floating in the oceans or around the necks of animals but also includes when the plastics are made, how they are made, and what they are made of. So our journey into the plastic crisis needs to go back to the beginning. The first fully synthetic material was invented at the beginning of the 20th century in 1907, it was called Bakelite and was invented by Leo Baekeland. Synthetic materials like Nylon which was invented in 1935 and replaced fabrics and Plexiglass replaced windows took over the market during World War II because they allowed more natural materials to be used for other things besides the war effort. Once the war was over synthetic materials took over the general market as it was cheaper to produce, easier to make into what humans wanted and needed, and were readily available whenever was required.
Now let's dive into how plastics are made. Check out this Vimeo video linked here to get a great overview: Video. Plastic starts in production at fracking for oil and the extraction of natural gasses, they are then sent to chemical processing plants. Throughout the chemical process of plastic production, there are pollutants emitted into the atmosphere which is why I say that the plastic crisis isn’t only the visible plastic we see. The steps in this process are also very technical and something that I don’t want to go too much into but if you would like to read more into the precise steps of plastic production you can click HERE to go do some more digging of your own.
Not all plastic is created equally.
See what I did there?
There are 6 common types of plastics that I wanted to touch on
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or PETE) Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
This is one of the most common forms of single-use plastic that we see today. Some of the examples of this type of plastic are plastic beverage containers, and plastic food storage containers like the ones for nut butters or mayo, also polyester clothing is made out of this type of plastic and ropes.
2. High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
Unlike PET plastics, HDPE plastics are the most commonly used plastics around the world. HDPE’s are classified into three of its categories, high-density, low-density, and linear low-density. Due to the resilience of this type of plastic to chemicals, moisture, and the strength it has it is ideal for cartons, pipes, and other building materials. This type of plastic is found in milk cartons, toys, box liners, park benches, rigid pipes, and more.
3. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC or Vinyl)
This plastic is strong and durable however, does not conduct electricity making it common for use with high-tech applications. It also is a material that is impermeable to germs which makes it widely used in the medical field. All of this known it is also one of the most dangerous forms of plastic to human health because throughout its life it is known to leach dangerous chemicals such as lead, dioxin, and vinyl chloride. PVC and vinyl are found in plumbing pipes, credit cards, toys both human and pet, gutters, teething rings, IV bags, medical tubing, and oxygen masks.
4. Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
This is a softer, clearer, more flexible version of HDPE. Due to this, it is used in more mundane things like plastic wrap, sandwich bags, bubble wrap, plastic bags, and beverage cups.
5. Polypropylene (PP)
This is one of the most durable forms of plastics because of its high heat tolerance which is higher than most of the others. PP plastics are used in food packaging, straws, bottle caps, prescription medicine bottles, disposable diapers, and CD/DVD boxes.
6. Polystyrene (PS or Styrofoam)
This is a low-cost, well-insulated, rigid plastic that has been a staple in the food industry. However, like PVC this plastic is also dangerous to human health which leeches a neurotoxin called styrene. Styrofoam is used in takeout food containers and cups, shipping/product packaging, egg cartons, building insulation, and single-use cutlery.
Now other more specific types of plastics are used in other things that haven't been mentioned so far. Examples of other plastics are the ones used in eyeglasses, baby and sports bottles, electronics, CDs/DVDs, lighting fixtures, and clear cutlery.
All of this information was taken from plasticoceans.org which is linked so you can go see more about this topic. They also provide a great table of what plastics can and can’t be recycled and how to recycle them!
Lastly, I wanted to touch on how the plastic used it continue polluting for millennia into the future. If you are looking for numbers on time required for plastic to decompose unfortunately I cannot give you any. Plastic doesn’t go away, just because it is made from materials we find on earth does NOT mean it turns back into them. Plastics simply get smaller and smaller, breaking into tiny pieces that we cannot see without a microscope, but they are still plastic. Here is a link to the United Nations website that reads a bit into the “decomposition” of plastics with some great photos to accompany it: link. When plastic turns to microplastics the danger to humans grows. Due to their size when plastic becomes microplastic, they are harder to detect and easier to be moved. They infect the waterways as well as the air which means that through both of these, they can get into our bodies. According to the National Capital Poison Center (the link is attached), the amount of microplastic consumed by a person each year can be upwards of 52,000 pieces. To me, that is a big ewwww! Before entering the body the plastics absorb chemicals and once entering the body expose the body to these chemicals. Though they haven’t done enough research on how much exposure to these microplastics it is safe to say that keeping exposure to these microplastics should be as low as possible!
Wow! That is a lot of info to have in one place. I wanted to give a huge shout to you for making it this far. Plastics are something that aren’t old, they haven’t even been around for 100 years and yet we are seeing the negative impacts. The number of plastics in the world is also not gonna stop being produced any time soon without major initiative and action from everyone. For now, the best we can do is try our best to use the alternatives that we have readily available to us. Bamboo single-use utensils versus plastic, paper plates without the plastic film versus plastic or styrofoam plates, and countless other switches to our lives can lower the amount of plastic we are using and send a message to the people of power that “we don’t want it, stop producing it!” Go to my Alternative Brands post where I give several brands for plastic-free alternatives that I will be slowly updating as I find more. Step by step if we work together everyone can do a little till it becomes big!
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