Plastic: Facing your Relationship with the stuff

If you are like most people, you may not be able to envision your life without plastics. They are part of so many of the objects that we engage with on a daily basis. Although the use of natural rubber from rubber trees and shellac from the lac beetle date as far back as 3 centuries ago, the Industrial Revolution redirected the creative imaginations of mechanics and chemists and anyone who knew anything about MAKING things, making them better/ faster / cheaper / easier etc. That creative momentum launched many new veins of engineering history - such as our deep and enduring dependence on and love of plastic.

Our real goal, besides briefly establishing what the heck a plastic is - is to understand its history and its problematic role in our environment. This is a delicate balancing act as, for many decades, plastic has played not only a physical role in our lives and the the environment, but it has imprinted itself up on us with its natal feelings of safety, security, cleanliness and reliability. To reconsider our relationship with the stuff is to unpack its sociological weight - and that is never really that fun to do.

First, let's start with what plastic is. As you may have learned in your own reading, it is a vast field of organic and inorganic chemistry which has many confusing rabbit holes. This may be overgeneralizing but let's give it a go and see how we do. On the molecular level, plastic is considered a polymer. That is to say that if you zoom into it and behold it from an extremely close-up perspective, you will notice a distinct repeated pattern. Within a polymer are monomers, or units which, when combined into a chain of 1,000 or more- are considered a polymer. In other words, when 1,000 or more monomers are POLYMERIZED (or joined together), they create a polymer. Things that are made of polymers have a distinct advantage over things made of many other materials; their chain-like nature gives them more flexibility, durability, moldability. Not every plastic has all of these qualities, but generally polymers can offer these features, facilitating many things being made more durably, more quickly and with more potential design properties (color etc).

Natural polymers exist such as tar, shellac, tortoiseshell, amber, and natural latex. In the 19th century, chemists began playing with natural polymers in order to adapt them to contemporary undertakings resulting in the creation of celluloid and vulcanized rubber. These adaptations led to the next generation of problems to solve and benefits to gain. Celluloid became a common material to replace things previously made of ivory. It also became widely used for developing still photographs and, later, producing films. Despite celluloid's tendency to yellow and crack on top of its flammability, it endured into the 1930s when it began to be replaced with cellulose-acetate. Vulcanized rubber offered a safer, stronger, longer lasting tire. We can see here that no invention or thought is the beginning or end and, depending on the lives that are being led on Earth at any given moment and the state of the Earth's natural pulse - the value of materials and of distinctive inventions may change over time.

As chemists began playing with polymers and creating things like thin films and enhanced rubbers - they were adapting natural materials. Eventually, in 1907, the first totally synthetic polymer was made. Some of you may remember Bakelite as part of your everyday life. Bakelite was the first totally synthetic resin made and it had some incredible properties that gave it the edge over even some of the naturally modified polymers. It had wonderful insulation properties allowing it to outperform hard rubber and shellac in the electrical industry. It was also used to make jewelry and knobs and all sorts of small functional hardwares. Bakelite has since been out-competed by more modern polymers that have even more adaptability, but is often still used in mah-jongg tiles and dominoes.

In 1911, the first semi-synthetic fabric (rayon) was made. This and other independent stories of forward 'progress' into the world of understanding polymers - continued pushing innovation at a moderate pace until the natural resources that the world had depended on for so long became less or unavailable with the global disruption of WWII. Silk and natural latex and wool all became difficult or impossible to obtain and the world began mass producing polymer-based materials to include rayon and synthetic rubber for parachutes and tires.

Here we have the great shift in the sociological impact of everyday materials. Here, we begin seeing plastic in the everyday lives of people. This is the moment I would like us to reflect upon together. We see the beauty and incredible ability for humans to come together and develop and create technology to survive and to endure. We see the beginning of a new phase of our material environments at home, at work, at school, in hospital. I strongly feel that when we reflect on the difficult changes we are facing now in the wake of the environmental problems caused by one thing such as plastic - we have the intelligence and strength to accomplish more than we think. It is the TIME that is quite in question.

So, we have learned about what a polymer is, what makes it unique, how its development from natural materials and, finally, its development as a totally synthetic form of material changed history - how history changed the development of a polymer. We can see the interplay between need and history - - - history and development.

Plastics continued to be developed and now they are an everyday part of our lives. Plastics can be made, as we talked about earlier, by modifying natural materials, such as latex, and making it into a functional polymer (i.e. rubber). Plastics can also be made by taking natural gas, coal, or oil and converting them. These natural materials are refined into ethane and propane which are then heat treated in a process called CRACKING. Cracking results in ethylene and propylene which are then combined together to create different polymers.

This is where we look at how plastics are made and shake our heads and ask: wait, if at least some of them are made from 'natural' materials, then what's the problem? Great question. If you dug into some of the more science-y articles with me, you read a lot of confusing content regarding the polymerization process. As plastics evolve from monomers and are polymerized, the bonds that exist in them are less and less like the bonds that exist in nature. Biodegradability (is that a word?) is not something that just happens. When something biodegrades, it is existing in a system of bacteria, fungi, air, water etc. The function of these relationships allows things that depend upon the matter in question - and seek it out for sustenance, structure etc. Biodegrading begins by something existing, then maybe it gets stepped on, rained on, chewed up, pooped out then maybe that happens over and over again until the original entity is totally unrecognizable except for its molecular constituent parts that have been dispersed into nature.

Remember the long bonds - the chain like nature of the polymers/plastics that we talked about? Remember the value, the usefulness of those long chains? They are useful until we get to the returning to nature part of their lives. It is here where we must begin the investigation into and discussion of RECYCLING and REPURPOSING. Because those long chain, complex bonds are not really recognized by nature, plastics will not break down. There is ample evidence to show the deleterious effects that plastic and nature has on water quality, soil quality, the health of ecosystems and the flora and fauna within that ecosystem - to include YOU!

Recycling systems have their own problems. Because so many types of plastic exist and because there are no global or even national (in the U.S.) recycling standards - recycling has become a very disjointed and inefficient process. Some materials can be recycled easily, others lose their strength and durability when recycled. Reusing materials has become more and more a part of the conversation in the past few years. One of the great conundrums of this decade is going to be how to re-organize the materials industry to support the shipping of goods to people who need them- and how to do this without continually using virgin material. This will require us to address recycling and re-using and to develop systems that are more efficient. Part of the problem from the consumer level is that many consumers are apathetic, many others are passionate but have no recycling systems to use. The poor continuity of recycling systems and the cultural lack of normalcy around closed loop systems needs to be addressed. We need to get used to circular systems that renew themselves - to not fear the work that would take. Indeed to do something right the first time often takes less effort and fewer resources than re-doing it many times over to fix it.

Many people are working on huge levels to globalize recycling systems. This will affect many other industries - to include the transportation industry, fashion, cosmetics, vehicles etc. Plastic feels safe to consumers. We have spent years relying on it and feeling its comfort and reliability as some blanket panacea for safety. I encourage each of us to become smarter consumers. What are you consuming? Is the container something you can reuse? Can you even recycle it in your town? Begin to understand the roadblocks that exist in the choices that you are making. I have had a few readers reach out to me and tell me that they no longer have recycling in their town at all so everyone throws everything in the trash.

I recommend reaching out to your City Counsels and learning more about what resources your towns/cities offer for recycling/repurposing etc.

Most importantly, I urge you to look into your daily habits and see what you can change. We are talking about one thing - polymers - and their impact on the planet. If you change even ONE habit, you can do a world of good. You can level-up your engagement with the world by working on even just that one thing. We, alone, cannot solve the problem of plastics in the environment, but as I am constantly reiterating - you are being watched by the world. You are an example for those around you and every decision you make will empower others somehow.

Do your best to empower them towards healthier decisions for themselves, the community, and the Earth. I hope you will reach out to me and tell me more about what you are learning and what choices you are making for yourself and why those choices matter. I would also be interested in talking to you about what substitutions you are making when you eliminate something that is plastic from your life or how you are repurposing something that would otherwise be thrown away. I don't think plastics are going to disappear from our lives. I think we are in a place in time to reposition our stance - to be more responsible makers and users and circular thinkers. I have seen cool articles about worms that are able to break down plastic and other such fascinating findings. We will continue looking into this together; I look forward to being further fascinated by you and what you learn!

Thanks for joining me :) ~ Sarah