The Evolution Of Plastics: The Evolution Of Plastics

Plastic, like most inventions, was accidentally invented. Charles Goodyear was a perfect example of how things accidently started. He started the process of making plastic by dropping India-rubber mixed with sulfur on a hot stove. The in the late 1930s, chemist Wallace Carruthers invented nylon, which is a synthetic polymer. Polymers have a high melting and boiling point. Synthetic polymers are also known by the word we use today, plastic. The evolution of plastic started during World War II. Ever since then, plastic has been remolded and created to be used for our convenience in our everyday lives. For example, using a plastic cup or plate is more convenient than using a glass cup or bowl. People encounter many different types of plastic each day and may not be aware of it. In fact, during the first two hours of a typical morning, a female college student might encounter the following products which contain plastics: her alarm clock, mirror frame, the tape used to hang her posters, the toilet seat, the shower curtains, her deodorant, her toothbrush, her shampoo and conditioner bottles, her blow dryer, the light switch, bottled water, her refrigerator, a bread bag, her roommate's glasses, her fan, and phone.

Plastic is good for a few reasons. The use of plastic provides convenience, efficiency, and flexibility to consumers and manufacturers. Even though plastic has its pros, there are a few reasons why it is becoming a problem for the environment. Through overuse, harmful chemicals are slowly coming into contact with our bodies, and the lack of recycling is what is causing problems for the environment. The negative effect of current plastic use worldwide outweighs the positives, and therefore we should reduce, educate, and recycle...

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...rtists who are raising awareness about plastic through creative means. Alejandro Duran has projects called Washed up Project. The Washed up Project is designed to photograph different plastics all over the world. His goal of this project is to photograph washed up plastics such as bottles, chairs, lids, buckets along the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico and turn them into something beautiful. He also addresses the issue of plastic pollution making its way across the ocean and onto the shores of Sian Ka’an. Alejandro Durán has found plastic waste from fifty nations on six continents that has been washed up ashore. Another example of an artist who is using plastic to be creative is Andrew Simon, "We Run the Ship." “We Run the Ship” is a puppet show for kids with puppets made from recycled plastic materials. He teaches kids about recycling through creativity and play.