A brief history of plastic
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Date: 2020-09-10
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Comments and reviews: 9
Bonifeks51
Finding ways to reduce our plastic usage is going to be the most important way to reduce the negative impacts of plastics in the environment. A few general facts about plastics and recycling can be used as evidence for this:
1) Less than 10 percent of all plastic in the U. S. is recycled, with many plastics being co-polymers making them difficult to reuse
2) Less than 5% of all plastics created are biodegradable with an even smaller percentage being biobased/biodegradable, meaning most plastics comes from refining petroleum and are slow to degrade. Extracting, refining and molding these plastics comes at a high energy cost, beyond the negative environmental effects.
3) Microbes with the ability to breakdown plastics such as polyethylene are only able to do so do a certain percentile of the entire plastic. Microbes tend to struggle when the remaining plastic become more crystalline, which detracts enzymes ability to oxidize, hydrolyze and ultimately breakdown polymers.
Unfortunately the blame for the plastic problem has been shifted onto the individual instead of the producers who have overwhelmingly adopted plastics into a variety of markets. Yes, plastics are extremely useful in many ways, but without a clear end of life strategy and some regulatory measures to limit overproduction of single-use items, this plastic problem is going to become an environmental catastrophe.
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Finding ways to reduce our plastic usage is going to be the most important way to reduce the negative impacts of plastics in the environment. A few general facts about plastics and recycling can be used as evidence for this:
1) Less than 10 percent of all plastic in the U. S. is recycled, with many plastics being co-polymers making them difficult to reuse
2) Less than 5% of all plastics created are biodegradable with an even smaller percentage being biobased/biodegradable, meaning most plastics comes from refining petroleum and are slow to degrade. Extracting, refining and molding these plastics comes at a high energy cost, beyond the negative environmental effects.
3) Microbes with the ability to breakdown plastics such as polyethylene are only able to do so do a certain percentile of the entire plastic. Microbes tend to struggle when the remaining plastic become more crystalline, which detracts enzymes ability to oxidize, hydrolyze and ultimately breakdown polymers.
Unfortunately the blame for the plastic problem has been shifted onto the individual instead of the producers who have overwhelmingly adopted plastics into a variety of markets. Yes, plastics are extremely useful in many ways, but without a clear end of life strategy and some regulatory measures to limit overproduction of single-use items, this plastic problem is going to become an environmental catastrophe.
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eric
I think it came from Dupont after the French scientist research in material in lab while research nylon and polyester for clothing fabric to replace coton and to make wrinkle free fabric they discovered plastic and also at the same time Good Year engineering found rubber. At the same time maybe the Dupont production engineer diversified into chemical warfare led to dangerous spread of warfare of today air electronic generate biochemical agent in materials use in most of big or electronic device bodies in today
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I think it came from Dupont after the French scientist research in material in lab while research nylon and polyester for clothing fabric to replace coton and to make wrinkle free fabric they discovered plastic and also at the same time Good Year engineering found rubber. At the same time maybe the Dupont production engineer diversified into chemical warfare led to dangerous spread of warfare of today air electronic generate biochemical agent in materials use in most of big or electronic device bodies in today
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edmg7
Why do I feel like if social media was around in the late 1800s and early 1900s then instead of bringing attention to the guy who used chemistry to look for an alternative to hunting elephants people would just start screaming at world governments for not doing more to end the hunting?
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Why do I feel like if social media was around in the late 1800s and early 1900s then instead of bringing attention to the guy who used chemistry to look for an alternative to hunting elephants people would just start screaming at world governments for not doing more to end the hunting?
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Red
A green plastic watering can
For a fake Chinese rubber plant
In the fake plastic earth
That she bought from a rubber man
In a town full of rubber plans
To get rid of itself
Why should we not get rid of this plasticity?
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A green plastic watering can
For a fake Chinese rubber plant
In the fake plastic earth
That she bought from a rubber man
In a town full of rubber plans
To get rid of itself
Why should we not get rid of this plasticity?
reply
Mira
I understand that plastic can be used to benefit humanity (ex. plastic cars depend on less fuel than the metal alternatives, however, people don't seem to realize the environmental and health repercussions of this product.
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I understand that plastic can be used to benefit humanity (ex. plastic cars depend on less fuel than the metal alternatives, however, people don't seem to realize the environmental and health repercussions of this product.
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Jess
Plastic People is more than a huge problem than Global warming. It is cancers of Community. I rather be hurt with the truth rather than a lie. but we can't do nothing about being plastic because its not considered a crime.
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Plastic People is more than a huge problem than Global warming. It is cancers of Community. I rather be hurt with the truth rather than a lie. but we can't do nothing about being plastic because its not considered a crime.
reply
Shreeya
I was wondering when you would get around to plastic. I mean, you did smartphones and chicken and POTATO before plastic! Excellent video and animation though, as usual.
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I was wondering when you would get around to plastic. I mean, you did smartphones and chicken and POTATO before plastic! Excellent video and animation though, as usual.
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UnderTheSkin13
I wish I could show this to my mother but she doesn't speak English. Why wouldn't you close caption this in other important languages? Eurocentrism much?
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I wish I could show this to my mother but she doesn't speak English. Why wouldn't you close caption this in other important languages? Eurocentrism much?
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Unknown
0: 43 when you learned this word and learned about it in ncert 8th textbook. And then you realised you have read about it somewhere! So be proud to be indian!
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0: 43 when you learned this word and learned about it in ncert 8th textbook. And then you realised you have read about it somewhere! So be proud to be indian!
reply
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