PLASTIC.

PLASTIC.
PLASTIC.

Authors: Celine Lityo, Andrew Lim and Nathan Lityo

Design and edit by Rebecca Sopacua
 PLASTIC.
You have heard it all. The environmental concerns of plastics have been
widely discussed, prompting companies to start producing
plastic-based products. Nevertheless, it is impossible to understand
the health implications and environmental effects of plastic pollution
without a solid grasp on the rarely discussed structure of plastic and
microplastics.

Annually, more than 500 billion

plastic bags are used all over the
globe, making the annual
production of 300 million tons of
plastic seem reasonable. The
adaptable properties of plastic
make it fit for use in every day to
day product, and at this point,
plastic is undeniable unavoidable.
So, what implications do our love
for plastic cause?

In this report, we will go in depth

on plastics:

1. History
2. 7 types of plastics
3. Microplastics
4. Microplastics and health
5. Environmental effects of plastic
6. Alternatives to plastic
 Plastic is made from synthetic polymers, like
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for plastic
bottles and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for
flexible plastic. Polymers are long molecules
with a carbon-based backbone, bonded with
other elements like sulfur, oxygen or nitrogen.
These polymers are macromolecules made up
of small repeating units of monomers.

Plastics are fairly complicated,

different categories of plastics
have different structures and
properties.

The less popular type of plastic,

natural plastics are plastics
derived from vegetable starches
and fats like cellulose. These
types of plastics are
biodegradable and can
decompose in the presence of
decomposing microbes.
Conventional plastic such as
nylon, PET, PVC and
petroleum-based plastic are
completely synthetic. Bioplastics
refer to plastics derived from
biomass and are usually
biodegradable.

Plastics are more broadly

categorized by their monomers.
Here are the 7 types of plastics
we see on the daily.These
plastics are identified by “resin
identification codes”, the
numbers inside the triangles,
meant to make recycling much
easier.
1. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or PETE or Polyester)
AKA beverage bottle plastics. PET suits the job of keeping
beverages shielded from bacteria inexpensively while
keeping its glossy looks. Polyethylene Terephthalate is a
lightweight plastic known for its excellent moisture barrier
properties and resistance to alcohols, oils, and diluted acids.
The common myth of leaving bottles in a hot car proves to
be true, as PET contains the compound antimony trioxide, a
carcinogen. Hotter temperatures stimulate the increase in
the release of antimony trioxide to the contained liquid. This
wrinkle free plastic is non biodegradable, due to its inert
nature.

PET is usually manufactured using blow molding, injection

molding, 3D printing and extrusion. Blow molding is by far
a favourite among manufacturers. Blow molding is a clean
manufacturing technique where granular plastic pellets are
melted to be captured by molds, followed by a blast of hot
air which causes the plastic to take up the shape of the
mold.

2. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

World’s most loved plastic. HDPE is the most widely used type of plastic due to its
unbranched polymer chains, which makes it super dense and thick, but moldable at
the same time. Aside from that, it is malleable, long lasting, impact resistant,
lightweight and mold resistant and is easily recyclable! What is there not to like?

Although its safety has been universally accepted, HDPE has been linked to contain
estrogen mimicking compounds that are stimulated to release when exposed under
UV light. It is linked to hormonal imbalance issues.
3. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

Alias the killer. Found in toys, wraps, packaging, blood bags

and water pipes, PVC is utilized in almost every industry.
Water pipes in municipalities are often made out of Polyvinyl
Chloride, because it is easy to install and odorless. Its base
materials are: Chloride salts and Petroleum based ethylene.
Chlorides are extracted from the seawater through electrolysis
and ethylene is harvested through the cracking of petroleum.

57% of PVC is pure chloride, releasing chemicals like bisphenol

A (BPA), lead, cadmium, dioxins and mercury. It has been
proven that PVC causes fetal development issues, hormonal
imbalance, cancer and diminished lung function. It is advised
that the general public use PVC only when necessary.

4. Low density Polyethylene (LDPE)

Wrinkly supermarket bag plastics. LDPE plastics are
polyethylenes, polymers with simple and branched structures
(4000-40 000 carbon atoms/polymer), making them less dense
and crystalline in form. It is highly flexible and cheap to
produce. It has good resistance towards acids, alcohols, esters,
and bases making it a suitable material for food and hardware
applications. This type of plastic is deemed safe.

LDPE manufacturing employs a radical polymerization process,

where an excess of 99.9% pure ethene is compressed and
passed into a reactor and initiator with oxygen or natural
peroxides. The polyethene is then extruded and cut into fine
granules ready for the blow molding process.

5. Polypropylene (PP)
Polypropylene(C3H6)n, a hydrocarbon and a monomer of
propene also known as PP, is a rigid thermoplastic addition
polymer. Polypropylene is also known to be more resistant to
heat and degradation from uv rays than any other plastics.
Polypropene is widely used in the automotive industry(car
bumpers or the carpet fibers of the interior) and consumer
goods(water bottles or food containers).

Same as LDPE, PP is safe for food and drink use because it

does not transmit chemicals into the things humans consume
due to its relatively high melting point(171°C). It is also
recyclable giving every reason why it's better to use this.
6. Polystyrene (PS)

The foamy one. 95% of polystyrene is composed of air. Most

polystyrene foams are incorporated and foamed with carbon
dioxide. It is a polymer of the liquid monomer, styrene.They are
excellent insulators and are lightweight, making their popular
function as take out box packages. other than that, PS is also used
in surfboards, car parts and stabilization systems.

The brittle and flammable property of styrofoam is reduced by

adding 5-10% butadiene rubber. So far, all styrene products are
deemed safe.

7. Other plastics such as bioplastic and polycarbonate (PC)

Bioplastic is a type of biodegradable plastic that is formed from renewable biomass

resources such as vegetable oil and corn starch rather than from non-renewable
resources such as petroleum.

The other example is called polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is a group of thermoplastic

polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates
are typically used for baby bottles, sippy cups, water bottles, water gallons and metal
food can liners.

However, a lot of countries have banned the use of this plastic material. The
chemicals inside PC can be transferred into the food or beverages, which explains
the reason behind the numerous health problems such as decreased sperm
production in males, various behavioural changes, increased risk of breast cancer,
prostate cancer, and metabolic disorders.
 THE HISTORY OF PLASTIC
The word plastic originally meant pliable and easily
shaped. Before the 1950s, plastic was barely a part of
our lives. So, how did our world become so filled with
plastic? Before we dive deeper on how the world became so filled
with plastic, we first need to understand the history of it. It all began
in the year 1869. A man, John Wesley Hyatt, invented plastic due to
a $10,000 offer to anyone that can provide a replacement for ivory, a
white and hard material which consists mostly of dentine, usually
made from elephant tusks or animal teeth.

After some experiments, Hyatt soon discovered treating

cellulose from cotton fibers would make a material that imitates other
natural products, like ivory and linen. Hyatt demonstrated that his
new invention was easily shaped in hot temperatures. In cold
temperatures it would harden, thus, holding up its shape. His
invention was quickly widespread, as for the first time, the
production of a material was not limited by natural resources.This not only hugely impacted many lives,
but also the environment. Although this was all very revolutionary, Hyatt’s invention still needed to be
improved.

In 1907, Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite. Bakelite is the first fully synthetic plastic, meaning it
contained nothing from nature. Bakelite was not just a decent encasing; it was also tough, heat safe,
and unlike celluloid, unmistakably appropriate for mechanical large scale manufacturing. Promoted as
"the material of a thousand uses," Bakelite could be formed or shaped into nearly anything, giving
unlimited prospects. Hyatt's and Baekeland's triumphs drove significant substance organizations to put
resources into the innovative work of new polymers and plastics before joining celluloid and Bakelite.
While Hyatt and Baekeland had been scanning for materials with explicit properties, new examination
programs looked for new plastics, for the wellbeing of their own, and stressed over discovering
utilizations for them later.

World War II required an incredible extension of the plastics businesses in the US, which the
modern may demonstrate as an essential to the triumph of military achievement. The need to save
scant regular assets focused on the creation of other manufactured options. Plastics were those
substitutes. Developed by Wallace Carothers in 1935 as a manufactured silk, Nylon was utilized during
the war for parachutes, ropes, body covering, protective cap liners, and the sky's the limit from there.
Plexiglas was also a choice as glass to airplane windows. A Period magazine article noticed that as a
result of the war, “Plastics have been gone to new uses and the flexibility of plastics was shown all
over again.” During World War II, plastic creation in the US expanded by 300%.

The flood in plastic creation proceeded after the war finished. In the wake of encountering the
Incomparable Wretchedness and afterward World War II, when Americans were prepared to spend
money again, quite a bit of the goods they purchased were made of plastic. According to author Susan
Freinkel, “In product after product, market after market, plastics challenged traditional materials and
won, taking the place of steel in cars, paper and glass in packaging, and wood in furniture.” The
conceivable outcomes of plastics gave a few spectators an idealistic vision for a future with bountiful
material rich on account of a reasonable, protected, and sterile substance that could be molded by
people for their needs.
 WORRIES ABOUT PLASTIC
In Rachel Carson's 1962 book, Quiet Spring, has uncovered the risks of mixtures in
pesticides. In 1969, a significant oil slick happened in the California coast, which
contaminated Cuyahoga Waterway in Ohio and led it to burst into flames. This raised worries
about contamination, as mindfulness about ecological issues spread.

Additionally, plastic progressively turned into a word used to portray things considered
modest, unstable, or counterfeit. In The Alumni, one of the top motion pictures of 1968,
Dustin Hoffman's character was asked by a seasoned associate to make a vocation in
plastics. Crowds started forming alongside Hoffman at what they saw, as they lost
excitement for an industry that opposed being filled with conceivable outcomes, an image of
modest similarity.

PLASTIC ISSUES: WASTE AND

WELLBEING
Plastic's notoriety fell further during the 1970s and 1980s as
uneasiness about waste expanded. Plastic turned into an
exceptional objective on the grounds that, while such a
significant number of plastic items are dispensable, plastic
keeps going forever in the earth. It was the plastics business
that offered reusing as an answer. During the 1980s the
plastics business drove a persuasive drive urging districts to
gather and procedure recyclable materials as a feature of
their waste-administration frameworks. In any case, reusing
is a long way from great, and most plastics despite
everything end up in landfills or on the earth. Market plastic
packs have become an objective for activists hoping to
boycott one-use, expendable plastics, and a few American
urban areas have just passed sack bans. A definitive image
of the issue of plastic waste is the Incomparable Pacific
Trash Fix, which has regularly been portrayed as a whirl of
plastic trash the size of Texas coasting in the Pacific Sea.
 \

The fame of plastics has endured further gratitude to a developing worry about the potential danger
they posture to human wellbeing. These worries center around the added substances that go into
plastics during the assembling procedure, making them progressively adaptable, solid, and
straightforward. A few researchers and individuals from people in general are worried about proof that
these synthetic compounds filter out of plastics and into our food, water, and bodies. In high portions
these synthetic substances can disturb the endocrine framework. Specialists stress especially over the
impacts of these synthetic substances on kids and what proceeded with aggregation implies for people
in the future.

What are Microplastics?

Microplastic are very small plastic fragments(less than 5 mm

in length) which can be harmful to the environment,
specifically the ocean and its aquatic creatures. Microplastics
does not come from just one source. It can come from
pollutants produced by vehicles, or from other plastic
materials that have degraded into smaller pieces.

Microplastic in animals
According to PLASTIC OCEANS, more than 8 million tons of
plastic are dumped in our oceans every year. That is
approximately 51 trillion pieces of microplastic! Microplastics
can damage aquatic creatures such as sea turtles and whales.
They block digestive tracts, which refuses/hinders them from
consuming and feeding behavior. The side effects are
damaged and reduce reproductive output. Aquatic creatures
cannot tell whether the stuff they feed on are actually edible.
This caused the stomachs in these aquatic animals to be filled
with lots of microplastic, causing some species to starve and die. Furthermore, studies conducted by
Lund University in Sweden, shows that these microplastics can enter the fish’s brains. This will cause
brain damage, which explains why fish behave in such a disorderly manner.
Microplastic towards health
How does microplastic affect our health? Microplastics
can be usually found in food or beverages, such as tinned
food, bottled water, tea bags, tap water and even table
salts. Fun fact, scientists, at the State University of New
York in Fredonia, discovered that out of the 250 bottles
tested, 93 percent of the samples revealed that there is an
average of 325 microplastics particles per litre of bottled
water. Furthermore, humans are most likely to breathe in
microplastics on a daily basis because it can be found
swifting through the air around you. It is also known that
seafood has the highest concentration of microplastics
due to the plastic wastes discharged into the ocean.

Microplastics are able to absorb and emit

chemicals and toxic substances such as dioxins,
which is harmful and can cause skin lesions, like
rashes and damage cells in the liver function. In
addition, some microplastic particles are small
enough to penetrate human tissues, which can
trigger immune reactions.

All of the above does sound terrifying and is true only if it's a long term exposure. However,
scientists are still unsure whether consuming microplastics particles can actually harm one's health.
Further studies and research is still required to find out the effects it has towards humans.

Alternatives to Plastic
Plastic is preferably used mainly because
it's versatile (cheap, lightweight,
mouldable, durable and strong). We have
to understand that there are other
alternatives to these harmful substances.

1. Wood
2. Bamboo
3. Paper
4. ceramics
5. Cardboard
6. Glass
7. Stainless Steel

Some of these materials come from

renewable resources like trees. Efforts
made to satiate our plastic addiction can
start by replacing plastic packaging
products, furniture and construction
materials with more natural alternatives.
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