Unpacking the Plastic Problem

Look around while driving along a roadway, walking through a park, or paddling down a stream, and one thing becomes clear - we have a plastic problem. Plastic is visible everywhere - on the land, in the water, even up in trees.

But how did we get here? How is it that plastic is so ubiquitous and why isn't it going away? This article takes us on a brief walk through the history of plastics, points out some of the challenges we're facing, highlights some innovations around plastics, and offers small but meaningful changes we can make to reduce the tide of plastic pollution.

"Plastic" means pliable and easy to shape. Natural plastics have been harvested for thousands of years from plants and animals - gum, rubber, and even some animal horn - are pliable enough to shape to ones needs.

Jump to 1870 - the first plastic products are developed from cellulose nitrate, eventually called celluloid, a polymer that imitated ivory for use in billiard balls.

Late 1800's - the first paper straw is developed. (Fun fact! Metal drinking tubes go back 5,000 years to the Ancient Sumerians who used them to fetch the liquid at the bottom of their cup of fermented brew.)

1907 - Bakelite is developed, the first synthetic plastic derived from fossil fuels rather than from plants or animals. The founder, Leo Baekeland, incorporating phenol, an acid derived from coal tar. This sets the stage for the use of crude oil and natural gas in plastics production.

1930s-1940s - Metal was rationed during the war years and plastics production skyrocketed as cheap and durable solutions - silicone, polyester, and nylon for ropes, uniforms, parachutes, and stockings. Anything from military vehicles to PVC to radar insulation were developed to support the war efforts. This decade also brought the bendable (still paper) straw, allowing hospital patients to drink while prone. After the war ended in 1945 and war-related production plummeted, plastic manufacturers pivoted to mass consumer goods market, focusing first on packaging. Tupperware was launched in 1948.

1950s - In 1951, polypropylene is developed, opening the door to high-density packaging, from milk jugs to large chemical drums. It is used for toys, tools, furniture, and is found in in plumbing piping and auto parts. These polymers became an integral part of our everyday lives, replacing glass and ceramic for containers, cups, and dishware. A 1955 issue of Life Magazine celebrates "Throwaway Living" and touts the benefits of disposable plastics (also known as single-use plastics) - cheap, simple, convenient. 1.5 million tons of plastics are being produced each year around the world.

1960s - This decade brought mass production of plastic straws, which are cheaper and more durable than paper straws. They pop easily into the plastic lid of the go-cup and last forever.

1980s - Newly invented fleece - soft, warm and fur-free - burgeons in the outdoor clothing and sportswear industry and completely changes the way the world dresses for cold weather. Ad campaigns exclaim "Plastics Make it Possible!" Jumbo and crazy straws are launched.

Jump to 2015 - More than 300 million tons of plastics are being produced each year around the world, and about 80% of that is petrochemical based. Approximately 6,300 million metric tons of plastic waste has been generated so far; 9% is recycled, 12% incinerated, and 79% accumulates in landfills or in the natural environment. It is estimated that every year, 10 to 20 million tons of plastics leak into the oceans.

But here is more bad news. Commonly-used plastics accumulate, versus degrade or decompose, in landfills or out in the world. They erode into smaller pieces called microplastics, which are found nearly everywhere, including in soil, in the air, and in our bodies. Microplastics are defined as being smaller than five mm in diameter, and can be anything from microbeads and Styrofoam to fragments from larger plastic items.

To make matters worse, microfibers shed from synthetic clothing (like fleece) or fishing nets, are another form of microplastic. These fibers are released during washing, bypass water treatment plant filters, and then the fibers themselves, as well as any absorbed harmful pollutants like pesticides, dyes, and flame retardants, are released in the water.

Turns out, microfibers are the most common microplastic particle found in freshwater systems. Many of these end up in the ocean, but recent studies are investigating microplastic accumulation in transition areas where freshwater and ocean water mix, such as bays and estuaries.

Of the plastics we use, 50% is single-use and is immediately thrown away. So all of these un-recyclable and unrecycled plastic items, sizes from macro to micro, made of thousands of different kinds of polymers, are circulating the globe and being transported around in our streams, rivers, bays, and oceans. Plastics in oceans collects in floating junkyards that travel with the currents. They also drift on the water's surface and become embedded in deep ocean sediments.

These chemicals and particles are ingested by all kinds of wildlife - terrestrial, aquatic, and marine. Wildlife also becomes entangled in plastic bags, six-pack rings, and fishing line. They choke on straws.

Humans are also breathing and ingesting plastics - think about the food chain. The health effects are being studied, but there is cause for caution and concern.

We have a plastic pollution hangover, but there is hope and positive action. Some restaurants and food service companies, as well as some airlines, hotels, and resorts are banning plastic straws. Communities, such as Seattle, WA, Miami Beach, FL and Malibu, CA have also banned them. In fact, entire countries such as Belize, Taiwan and England are plastic straw-free. Los Angeles City has banned the use of plastic at all restaurants and bars unless requested by the customer. This includes expanded polystyrene products like styrofoam cups, plates, and coolers, single-use plastic straws, containers, plates, bowls, cutlery, trays, and utensils, and disposable napkins. Microbeads were banned in the U.S. in 2018 as part of the Microbead-free Waters Act of 2015.

According to the USDA, there is also hope in the form of research and development around bioplastics. These plastics are made from renewable resources, such as corn, soybeans and sugarcane, cooking oil, straw, food waste. Instead of eroding into microplastics, a compostable bioplastic will, under certain conditions, biodegrade. Do your homework though - many of these compostable plastics need an industrial composter to compost properly. Additionally, if these cellulose-based plastics are being produced in large quantities, sheer volume will still contribute to the problematic microplastic problem.

And that annoying single-use plastic wrap around food? Agricultural Research Service scientists are developing a biobased compostable film from casein, a milk protein from expired milk. It has the potential to be more effective in keeping food fresher for longer periods of time and can reportedly dissolve in hot water. Keep an eye on the surging bioplastic packaging market and be an informed consumer.

"How Does All That Plastic Get into the Ocean?" by boellstiftung is licensed under CC BY 2.0

What can we do to help?

Pay attention to plastics-related research and regulations

For example:

• Bans, taxes, and fees - learn what your community doing
• Federal plastics regulations
• Advances and challenges of bioplastics
• Recycling - know what is and is not recyclable

Reduce and Reuse

• Look for products that use less packaging
• Avoid using single-use cups, bags, and packages​
• Use reusable wrappers - bees wax wraps & glass containers​
• Eat in at restaurants instead of taking out
• Take reusable container to restaurants for leftovers​
• Make use of bulk bins for refills, when possible​
• Use reusable cloth bags when shopping​
• Say no to plastic straws, plates, and cups
• Use a stainless-steel water bottle

Helpful actions that take a bit more activation energy

• If you have a washing machine, consider installing a microfiber filter; wash synthetics less often
• Join a local organization for stream clean-ups
• Educate others about the choices you are making and why
• Purchase used vs. new
• Pick up litter
• Join or create a campaign that encourages others to reduce plastic use

Plastic waste is so ubiquitous in the environment, it has been suggested that it be used as a geological indicator of the proposed "Anthropocene era," meaning it is becoming embedded in soil horizons and will be recorded in future rock layers. Let's release our reliance on plastics, embrace innovation and change, and give future generations the gift of reduced plastics in air, water, land, wildlife, and ourselves, starting now.

Sources

American Chemical Society. (1999). Discovery of Polypropylene and High-Density Polyethylene.

Geyer, R., Et al. (2017). Production, Use and Fate of all Plastics Ever Made. Science Advances. Vol 3, Issue 7.

Gibbens, S. (2018). A Brief History of How Plastic Straws Took Over the World. National Geographic.

Greenbaum, H., and D. Rubinstein (2011). The Evolution of Fleece, from Scratchy to Snuggie. New York Times.

Green Mountain Conservation Group. Microplastics Research

Islam, S. Et Al. 2019. Frontier technologies for addressing plastic pollution. Frontier Technology Quarterly.

Knight, L. (2014). A Brief History of Plastics, Natural and Synthetic. BBC

Lev-Tov, D. (2018). The Death of the Plastic Straw. National Geographic.

MacArthur, E. (2018). Why our Throwaway Culture has to End. National Geographic.

National Museum of American History. Celluloid Billiard Ball.

National Ocean Service. A Guide to Plastic in the Ocean.

Penn State Extension. (2022). Microplastics.

Synergy Restaurant Consultants. 2022. 2022 Plastic Ban Laws: What Restaurants Need to Know About Their (Dis)use of Plastics

Urbanek, A.K., Et Al. 2018. Degradation of Plastic and Plastic-degrading Bacteria in Cold Marine Habitats. National Library of Medicine.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2021). A New Industrial Revolution for Plastics.