Plastic Pollution

Plastic
Pollution
By Group 6
Laurel Dawn
Hayden Tyller
Jareth Ho
Bashayirullah Noorul Ameen
History of
Plastics
▪The first man-made plastic - created by
Alexander Parkes
▪ publicly demonstrated it in 1862, Great
International Exhibition in London
▪The material called Parkesine was an organic
material derived from cellulose
▪Celluloid is derived from cellulose and
alcoholized camphor. John Wesley Hyatt
invented celluloid in 1868.
▪He created celluloid in a strip format for movie
film
▪By 1900, movie film was an exploding market for
celluloid
Celluloid ▪ first tried using a natural substance -
John Wesley Hyatt invented celluloid as a collodion
substitute for the ivory in billiard balls in ▪ after spilling a bottle of it & discovered that the
1868. material dried into a tough and flexible film.
▪ the material was not strong enough to be used as
John Wesley Hyatt a billiard ball without the addition of camphor, a
derivative of the laurel tree—celluloid was
created when these were combined.
▪ the new celluloid could be molded with heat and
pressure into a durable shape.
▪ celluloid became famous as the first flexible
photographic film used for still photography and
motion pictures.
Billiard Balls
Leo Baekeland
▪ first synthetic plastic – the first to be derived not
from plants or animals, but from fossil fuels
- The world’s first fully synthetic plastic was Bakelite.
▪ Baekeland used phenol, an acid derived from coal
- Invented in New York 1907 by Leo Baekeland, whom tar
coined the term “plastics”. ▪ His work opened the floodgates to a torrent of
now-familiar synthetic plastics – polystyrene in
1929, polyester in 1930, polyvinylchloride (PVC)
and polythene in 1933, nylon in 1935
Bakelite Jewelry
Leo Baekeland
Uses of Plastics
Plastics are used worldwide in many sectors that are
beneficial for us. These are some of the sectors where
plastics are commonly used :
1) Packaging
2) Construction
3) Transport application
4) Electrical and electronic appliances
1. Packaging ▪ one of the most important
contributors to protect food from
spoiling
▪ It allows food to travel further
distances, stay longer on shelves, and
ensures that large amounts of food
do not go to waste
▪ As plastics are hygienic, safe,
durable, and secure
▪ It accounts for the largest usage of
plastics world wide and is used in
numerous packaging applications
▪ including containers, bottles, boxes,
baby products, protection packaging
and many more
2. Construction
▪ mainly used for seals, profiles ( windows
and doors ), pipes, cable and ect.
▪ plastics have further uses as they do not
rot, rust or need regular re-painting –
have strengthen with lack of weight – are
easily formable, and their light weight
enables them to be easily transported
and moved on site
▪ as this makes plastics an economically
attractive choice throughout the
constriction sector
Pipes
3. Transport
application
• All forms of transport require energy to run & fuel
represents a substantial part of running costs.
• Cutting the weight of the transportation can cut fuel
consumption
• The lightness of plastics makes them invaluable to
the transport industry
• Used externally plastics are durable, do not corrode
and require little maintenance.
• they allow freedom of design and fast and
economical manufacture
• Internally, plastics fittings, such as dashboards,
flooring, seats and faces, maintain their attractive
appearance and are easy to clean
4. Electrical and Electronic
Applications
▪ Electricity powers almost every aspect of our lives

▪ everywhere that we find electricity, we also find
plastics
▪ example, in the kitchen, there are the labour-
serving devices that we wouldn’t be without;
washing machined, microwave ovens, kettles.
▪ One category of plastic which is suitable for this
aspect as heat is encountered which is thermosets
▪ such as urea formaldehyde which once set, cannot
be remelted
Negative Impacts of Plastics
As we all know by now, plastics are used worldwide and
is very convenient for us in many aspects of our daily
usage. Indeed, it has a lot of advantages, but at the same
time, there are disadvantages too as the usage of plastics
leads to harming the environment as well as living things.
These are the two major negative impact of

plastics:
▪ Produce harmful pollutants
▪ Suffocation in marine life
1. Produce Harmful Pollutants
▪ is that it takes many years to for them to decompose.
▪ If perish under the sunlight, toxic substances are
released into the soil
▪ If burned, they release a toxic substance into the air
causing ambient air pollution
▪ example, single-use plastics which are often used for
only a few minutes but remain in the environment
for a long time, will harm the environment
▪ by breaking into microplastics which harm wildlife -
contaminate our food & water
Microplastics ▪ serve as carriers for bacteria and persistent
organic pollutants (POPs).
What are microplastics? ▪ are toxic organic compounds that, take years
- originate from macroplastics that have to degrade
broken apart in the ocean. ▪ consist of chemicals like pesticides and
- Plastic that break apart due to weathering dioxins - hazardous to human and animal
from the sun, wind, or other causes. health in high concentrations.
▪ humans ingest microplastics - through eating
marine animals that have consumed the
material.
▪ Even if we don't eat seafood, we have come
into contact with microplastics - through
your drinking water or the very air we
breathe.
Why is Plastic Slow to Decompose?
o plastics are not organic
o is made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) - nearly indestructible
o as most bacteria cannot break them down
o PET is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester
family
o Used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids & foods; thermoforming
for manufacturing; and in combination with glass fibre for engineering
resins
o In order to decompose something, it is buried in the soil, where bacteria can
break it down
o UV light from the sun can break plastic down, but it takes a long time
Most plastics - derived from propylene, a simple chemical component of petroleum.

When heated up in the presence of a catalyst, individual chemical units monomers of
propylene link together by forming extremely strong carbon-carbon bonds with each
other.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) This results in polymers long chains of monomers called polypropylene.
Suffocation in Marine Life
▪ Waste from plastic - poses serious environmental danger
to animal health too.
▪ impact the environment by causing littering and
stormwater drain blockages.
▪ Animals get tangled & drown in plastic bags as they often
confuse the bags for food and consume them
▪ Causes blockage - digestive processes
▪ Animals becoming entanglement in marine debris
▪ including plastic bags, may cause starvation, choking,
laceration, infection and ect.
▪ large endangered tortoises were found to have suffocated
because of the mistaken swallowing of plastic bags
combined with seaweed
Solutions on how to
reduce plastic
pollution
As we all know by now, plastic pollution is a serious matter .We
have to find solutions to reduce this problem so that it will be
reduced. These are the two solutions that can be the initiative move
to reduce plastic pollution:
1. Single-use plastic Bans
2. Recycle
Single-use Plastics Bans
▪ Banning single-use plastics will reduce marine and land-
based plastic pollution.
▪ It will also reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and
associated greenhouse gas emissions.
▪ Reducing the production of single-use plastics also means
fewer raw materials used and reduced emissions from
manufacturing.
▪ It may not fully solve the crisis on its own but it is the first step
to help change plastic consumption habits
▪ And also cause consumers and retailers to be more open to
alternatives
What to use instead? Choose to reuse or avoid altogether:
❖ avoid drink stirrers or choose reusable metal teaspoons or swizzle sticks
❖ avoid straws or choose reusable ones made from bamboo, stainless steel,
or silicone
❖ choose cotton buds without the sticks or with bamboo sticks
Choose reusable:
❖ cutlery made from stainless steel, heavy-weight plastic, or bamboo
❖ plates made from plastic or ceramic
❖ glass, plastic, or metal containers
❖ silicone cotton buds
It only takes a few times of bringing your own reusable bags to
the store, or carry a travel mug and a metal reusable drinking
bottle to make it a habit.
Making your own meals is not only healthier, but it also doesn’t
involve takeout containers or doggy bags. When you order in or
eat out, tell them that you don’t need any plastic cutlery or bring
your own food-storage containers to restaurants for leftovers.
Recycle
▪ Try to select items that come in non-plastic recycled and
recyclable packaging
▪ But do remember that when we select items that are eco-
friendly, it is not encouraged to throw away the plastic items
that have
▪ However, we can still use the plastic that we have until it no
longer has its purpose and recycle it
▪ Check everything before putting the items in the trash
▪ As more and more items are able to be recycled these days
▪ Remember that because plastic doesn’t break down easily,
recycling plastic means that it is still plastic, but being use for
a different purpose
▪ As this will help to reduce the plastic production in the
industry that will lead to less plastic waste in the
environment
2/1/20XX
19
Thank
you

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Plastic

▪ Electricity powers almost every aspect of our lives

These are the two major negative impact of

Most plastics - derived from propylene, a simple chemical component of petroleum.

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