Plastics (or synthetic polymers) were first introduced back in the 19th century when they were trying to find an alternative to Ivory; ivory is also used in billiard balls (or pool balls in the US) Ivory was more commonly made using Elephant tusks, and was used in the making of small sculpted works of art, mini statues and other uses. Such as this Catholic depiction of Mary holding baby Jesus:
In 1907 an inventor Leo Baekeland came up with an utterly artificial type of plastic called Bakelite; bakelite’s main attributes were that it was a good insulator of heat and strong. Later, bakelite aided with the production of electronics due to its ease of production and cheapness. Bakelite inspired others to create different types of polymers.
Today plastic is used in almost every type of profession. It’s used in computers, wires, safety equipment, tubes, ETC.
Although some say a downside to plastic is its environmental effects, plastic has a lot better attributes than other materials (glass, wood, etc.), like its lightness and strength. And if we were to replace plastic, we could need more resources for the alternatives, which would result in more storage for those substitutes, thus more storage on trucks and space on freight ships, planes, etc.
Even if the US and Europe decided to stop using plastic entirely, it wouldn’t even stop 1% of ocean pollution. Over time more and more plastics are invented for specific cases, and over time it may get better for the environment.
Good article! We need to be educated so much on plastics and not “throw out the baby with the wash water”. I noticed that Costco does not use plastic bags. They re-use boxes instead. A good point that the alternative for plastics costs energy and natural materials, which we need to consider…
Thanks for reading! Yes, I think it would be difficult to find a replacement for plastic; for now, it’s the most versatile option. A better, more “environment safe” option may be discovered in the future, but I don’t think we have reached it yet.