In the postwar years there was a shift in American perceptions as plastics were no longer seen as entirely positive. Plastic debris in the oceans was first observed in the 1960s, a decade in which Americans became increasingly aware of environmental problems. Rachel Carson’s 1962 book, Silent Spring, exposed the dangers of chemical pesticides. In 1969 a major oil spill occurred off the Santa Barbara, California coast and the polluted Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire, raising concerns about pollution. As awareness about environmental issues spread, the persistence of plastic waste began to trouble Americans.

Plastic also gradually became a word used to describe that which was cheap, flimsy, or fake. In The Graduate, one of the top movies of 1967, Dustin Hoffman’s character was urged by an older acquaint-tance to make a career in plastics. Audiences cringed along with Hoffman at what they saw as misplaced enthusiasm for an industry that, rather than being full of possibilities, was a symbol of cheap conformity and superficiality.

Plastic Problems: Waste and Health

Plastic’s reputation fell further in the 1970s and 1980s as anxiety about waste increased. Plastic became a special target because, while so many plastic products are disposable, plastic lasts forever in the environment. It was the plastics industry that offered recycling as a solution. In the 1980s the plastics industry led an influential drive encouraging municipalities to collect and process recyclable materials as part of their waste-management systems. However, recycling is far from perfect, and most plastics still end up in landfills or in the environment. Grocery-store plastic bags have become a target for activists looking to ban one-use, disposable plastics, and several American cities have already passed bag bans. The ultimate symbol of the problem of plastic waste is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which has often been described as a swirl of plastic garbage the size of Texas floating in the Pacific Ocean.[1]

The reputation of plastics has suffered further be-cause of a growing concern about the potential threat they pose to human health. These concerns focus on the additives (such as the much-discussed bisphenol A [BPA] and a class of chemicals called phthalates) that go into plastics during the manufacturing process, making them more flexible, durable and transparent. Some scientists and members of the public are concerned about evidence that these chemicals leach out of plastics and into our food, water and bodies. In very high doses these chemicals can disrupt the endocrine (or hormonal) system. Researchers worry particularly about the effects of these chemicals on children and what continued accumulation means for future generations.

There are at least ten times more plastic polluting the Atlantic Ocean than previously believed a new study has found.[2]  The National Oceanography Center (NOC) study, the first to measure the “invisible” microplastics beneath the surface of the entire Atlantic Ocean, found that there were between 12-21 million metric tons (approximately 13-23 million U.S. tons) of them floating in the top 200 meters (approximately 656 feet under the surface. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it takes a plastic bottle 450 years to biodegrade. 

The Future of Plastics

Despite growing understanding of their environ-mental harm, plastics are critical to modern life. Plas-tics made possible the development of computers, cell phones, and most of the lifesaving advances of modern medicine. Lightweight and good for insulation, plastics help save fossil fuels used in heating and in transportation. Perhaps most importantly, inexpensive plastics raised the standard of living and made material abundance more readily available. With-out plastics many possessions that we take for granted might be out of reach for all but the richest citizens. Replacing natural materials with plastic has made many of our possessions cheaper, lighter, safer and stronger.

Since it’s clear that plastics have a valuable place in our lives, some scientists are attempting to make plas-tics safer and more sustainable. Some innovators are developing bioplastics, which are made from plants instead of fossil fuels, to create substances that are more environmentally friendly than convention-al plastics. Others are working to make plastics that are truly biodegradable. Some innovators are searching for ways to make recycling more efficient, and they even hope to perfect a process that converts plastics back into the fossil fuels from which they were derived. All of these innovators recognize that plastics are not perfect but that they are an important and necessary part of our future.

Some key facts:

• Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years.[3]
• Production of plastics has increased exponentially, from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons by 2015. Production is expected to double by 2050.[4]
• Every year, about eight million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations. That’s the equivalent of setting five garbage bags full of trash on every foot of coastline around the world.[5]
• Plastics often contain additives making them stronger, more flexible, and durable. But many of these additives can extend the life of products if they become litter, with some estimates ranging to at least 400 years to break down.[6]
• What happens when a marine animal eats a piece of plastic? The plastic can end up, undigested, in the animal’s belly. This was the case when scientists discovered a dead sperm whale (Physeter macro-cephalus) with 22 kilograms (50 pounds) of plastic of all sizes—from drinking cups to flip-flops—in its stomach. Ingested trash like this can hurt and clog the digestive tract, leaving little room for real food. This can be observed in a great...Continue Reading