Table of Contents
What was the commercialization of plastic?
What followed was the commercialization of plastic, most of which was used as packaging material. Plastic proved to be popular among businesses and consumers, as it was cheap to produce and easily disposable. However, plastic had a shortcoming: it was non-biodegradable.
How does plastic affect the environment?
Six decades after its commercialization, the plastic is wreaking environmental havoc across the globe by clogging drainage systems, choking rivers and accumulating in the ocean.
When was plastic first used?
Significant levels of plastic pollution has ended up in the world’s oceans. In 1907, Belgian-American chemist Leo Henricus Arthur Baekeland created the first form of plastic based on a synthetic polymer.
Who invented plastic?
In 1907, Belgian-American chemist Leo Henricus Arthur Baekeland created the first form of plastic based on a synthetic polymer. This invention, which he named Bakelite, was nothing extraordinary until the 1960s when businesses realized that plastic could be used as packaging material.
Is plastic a biodegradable material?
However, plastic had a shortcoming: it was non-biodegradable. Six decades after its commercialization, the plastic is wreaking environmental havoc across the globe by clogging drainage systems, choking rivers and accumulating in the ocean.
How much plastic is produced annually?
How Much Plastic Is Produced? It is estimated that 300 million tons of plastic is produced every year, and half of this plastic is used just once and then disposed. Ten percent is recycled, while 12% is incinerated.
Where are garbage patches located?
Ocean gyres pull floating plastic together to form ocean garbage patches. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is the largest of five known garbage patches in the world’s oceans. Located between California and Hawaii, …
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