Plastic: The Popular Pollutant
What Are Plastics?
Look around your home or school. How many
different types of plastic do you see? You will
find plastics in almost everything you use. That’s
because they can be made in almost any shape
for almost any purpose. They are shaped to
make car parts, pipes, bottles and toys. They are
made into rug and clothing fibers and put into
paint. According to the World Economic Forum
(WEF), the world produced more than 342 million
tons of plastic in 2014. That’s about the same Rob Sinclair/Flickr
weight as 171 million cars. The amount of plastic
produced is expected to double by 2034.
Plastics are made of chemical compounds that
come from fossil fuels (oil, coal or natural gas),
minerals, plants and other materials found in
nature. Carbon is the basis of most plastics. The
carbon atoms link to other elements (like
hydrogen or oxygen) to form short molecules
called monomers. The monomers are then
chemically bonded into long chains of repeating
molecules. These long chains are called
polymers. Lots of plastics have “poly” (meaning
“many”) in their name. Ball-and-stick model of the styrene molecule (monomer),
C8H8. Carbon (black); Hydrogen (white). Public domain.
Ball-and-stick model of a section of the polyethylene terephthalate polymer, also known as PET and PETE, a polyester used in
most plastic bottles. Carbon (black); Hydrogen (white); Oxygen (red). Jynto [CC0], Wikimedia Commons.
There are thousands of different plastics. Plastic can be clear, soft or elastic. It can be as thin
and flexible as tissue or as sturdy and rigid as wood. While metal is strong and heavy,
plastics are strong and light. They can resist chemicals. They make good gas and moisture
barriers. They are also very good insulators—they keep heat from transferring. Some can
resist bacteria, flames or even bullets. Plastics are also cheap to make and use. All of these
qualities are why you can find plastics everywhere.
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History and Uses
Plastics were first developed in the 19th century
to replace valuable or scarce materials like jade,
amber and marble. One of the first plastics,
celluloid, was invented in the United States in
1865 to mimic tortoiseshell. It was used for
combs, ornaments and other decorative
objects. In 1891, rayon was developed as a
cheap substitute for silk. Later, plastics found
many more uses. There are plastics that mimic
wool, ceramic, aluminum, glass and more. Leo
Baekeland invented Bakelite in New York in Nylon rope is a type of plastic. Francis Mariani/Flickr
1907. It was made into telephones, electrical
sockets, costume jewelry and many other
items. Baekeland was the first to use the term
“plastic” to describe this new type of material.
For more than 150 years, plastics have changed
human life in positive and surprising ways. You
use plastic every day when you brush your
teeth, pour juice, cook a meal, use a computer
or smartphone, wash dishes, drive a car, drink
from a water bottle, comb your hair, wear a
windbreaker, ride a bike, wear glasses, watch
television, write with a pen…the list goes on
and on. Common household plastic items. ImGz, CC BY-SA 3.0
Benefits
Plastics have a wide range of uses, but safety
and convenience are two of their greatest
benefits. Harsh chemicals like ammonia now
come in plastic bottles instead of breakable
glass. Bulletproof Kevlar saves the lives of
police and soldiers every day. Many medical
devices like tubes, syringes and IV bags are
made of plastic. Plastic components and air
bags protect people in cars. Plastic helmets
protect people on bikes.
Plastic bottled drinks. Public Domain
According to the WEF, 26 percent of plastics are used for packaging. Plastic doesn’t rot or
biodegrade, so it’s very good at keeping food fresh. That means less food gets wasted and
thrown away. It’s also very light, compared to other packaging, making it convenient for
storing and transporting beverages and food. Plastics can also help make machines more
energy efficient. Since the 1970s, plastic has been used in appliances as an insulator and
has improved the energy efficiency of appliances by 30 to 50 percent.
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Negative Impacts
It’s hard to imagine life without this amazing material. The problem arises when we use
limited resources like fossil fuels to make things that are used once and thrown away.
According to a 2016 WEF report, more than 90 percent of the plastics made in the world
come from fossil fuels. Americans alone use 100 billion plastic bags every year. It takes 12
million barrels of oil to make those bags. Producing plastics from fossil fuels releases
greenhouse gases. Making one ton of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used in
clothing fibers and to make plastic bottles, generates more than four tons of carbon dioxide.
Plastic Pollution
One of plastic’s biggest benefits—it doesn’t biodegrade—is also one of its problems.
Natural materials are broken down by decomposers, such as bacteria. Plastic takes
hundreds of years to break down once thrown away, if it does at all. Bacteria break down
wood and paper, but they can’t break down most plastics.
Most of the plastic produced each year ends up
in landfills. According to the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), more than 90 percent
of the plastics Americans produce is thrown out.
Because plastic doesn’t biodegrade, it
accumulates, creating larger and larger piles of
trash. However, every year millions of pounds of
plastics don’t even make it to the landfills. It’s
estimated that one-third of discarded plastic
packaging is blown by the wind or washed into
rivers. This plastic can clog waterways, damage
Plastics in landfills. Alex Marshall, CC BY–SA 2.5 ecosystems and end up in the ocean.
Plastic debris can be found in every ocean on Earth, but measuring it is very hard to do.
Some researchers have said the amount of plastic in the ocean is like dumping a garbage
truckload into the sea every minute. If we keep making plastic—and don’t properly recycle
it—that rate is predicted to increase to four truckloads per minute by 2050. By that time,
plastic in the ocean will outweigh fish pound for pound.
The oceans contain a network of slowly rotating
currents, called gyres, that move water around
the planet. Plastic litter collects in these gyres,
creating large “garbage patches” in the ocean. In
2010, scientists set out to see how much plastic
was contained in these garbage patches. What
they found out was that they couldn’t account
for 99 percent of the plastic estimated to be in
the oceans.
Map showing gyres and “garbage patches” in the Pacific
What happened to it?
Ocean. NOAA
Nobody really knows. In 2014, it was estimated that there are 5.25 trillion plastic particles
floating in the oceans. However, most of that plastic is not floating on the surface.
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Plastics are found throughout the ocean
environment. Some plastics wash up on
beaches. The Ocean Conservancy’s 2015
coastal cleanup collected more than 18 million
pounds of trash from beaches and waterways
around the world. Of the top ten items found,
seven were plastic: beverage bottles, food
wrappers, bottle caps, straws, bags, grocery
bags and lids. Some of the plastic in the oceans
gets trapped in polar ice. Scientists found nylon
and other plastics in Arctic ice cores gathered in
2010. All of this plastic and other litter in the
ocean is called marine debris. Fishing nets and other plastic found in the ocean.
Claire Fackler/NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries
Much of the plastic is found miles deep in the water column and ends up on the seafloor.
Waves and sunlight break plastics down into smaller and smaller pieces. Many of the pieces
are too tiny to see or measure. Plastic microbeads in face washes and toothpastes are too
small to be filtered out by water treatment plants. They flow straight from sinks to the ocean.
These and other microplastics—small pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters long—have
been found in deep-sea sediments, rain and sea salt.
This oceanic plastic soup doesn’t just threaten
coastlines. It also threatens ocean species.
Scientists know that more than 660 species of
animals in the ocean have been affected by
plastic. Seabirds, fish, sea turtles and whales
mistake plastic for food. The Ocean
Conservancy estimates that 53 percent of the
world’s sea turtles have eaten plastic. Cigarette
lighters, syringes and other plastic have been
found in the stomachs of dead seabirds.
Plastic waste in the water is expensive. Coastal
communities in California alone spend about
$428 million every year cleaning up plastic Laysan Albatross chick full of plastic marine debris.
debris. Claire Fackler/NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries
Human Health
Many types of plastic release toxic chemicals when exposed to sunlight or heat. Some of
these are said to irritate skin, affect human body systems or cause cancer. In 2014, the
National Resources Defense Council affirmed the findings of the National Toxicology
Program that linked a type of plastic called “styrene” to cancer. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a
compound that has long been used to harden plastics, especially in food and beverage
packaging. Studies indicate that it can release synthetic, or man made, hormones that can
affect the brain, behavior and reproductive organs.
The plastics in the ocean affect human health, too. When humans eat fish, they also ingest
the toxins from the plastics that the fish have eaten.
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Recycling
Many types of plastic can be recycled. In
1988, the Society of the Plastics Industry
came up with numbered codes (1 to 7 inside a
triangle of arrows) to help manufacturers and
consumers identify them. The most commonly
recycled plastic is number 1 (polyethylene
terephthalate, or PET), used for water and
soda bottles. It can be recycled into many
products from sleeping bags to furniture to
more water bottles. Many cities recycle only
numbers 1 and 2, but these make up nearly 96
percent of all the plastic bottles and
containers used in the United States. Bales of crushed PET bottles. CC by 3.0
The good news is that more plastic is recycled now than ever before. And an increase in
recycling will create more jobs. The less good news is that, according to the EPA, Americans
recycled only about 15 percent of plastic containers and packaging in 2014. Compare that
recycling rate to 72 percent of steel packaging (mostly cans), 89 percent of corrugated
cardboard and 99 percent of lead-acid batteries.
And just because a plastic has a number on it, that doesn’t mean it can be recycled. Not all
types of plastic are recycled in all communities. And not all of the products made from
recycled plastic can be recycled themselves. They end up being thrown away, adding to
landfills and damaging ecosystems.
What’s the Solution to the Plastic Problem?
There is no easy answer. Plastics fulfill so many useful functions that it would be impossible
to get rid of them completely. And we probably wouldn’t even if we could. According to CNN
Money, plastics are a $370 billion per year global industry. That’s a lot of jobs. But something
must be done to prevent the increasing amount of plastics that get thrown away and end up
in our landfills and ecosystems.
Those solutions aren’t simple. Some people wonder why we can’t just clean the plastic out
of the ocean. The Save Our Seas Foundation estimates that to clean one gyre it would take
64 cargo ships working 24/7 for ten years. And even that would be impossible. The fragile
ecosystem at the ocean’s surface would be destroyed in the process.
It will take many people working together to create a sustainable future that includes plastic.
The WEF and others have made recommendations for ways to reach that goal:
● Increase the amount of plastics that get recycled.
● Increase the use of reusable and compostable packaging.
● Reduce the amount of plastic that escapes the waste stream.
● Reduce the amount of plastic waste created (less packaging).
● Innovate new plastics made from materials other than fossil fuels.
● Innovate new plastics that decompose or that can be recycled again and again.
● Innovate new uses for plastic waste.
● Encourage industry to take responsibility for developing recyclable products and
managing the lifecycle of those products.
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