{"id":22675,"date":"2018-12-13T17:45:20","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T17:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.natgeokids.com\/?p=22675"},"modified":"2024-12-10T16:30:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T16:30:48","slug":"all-about-plastic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.natgeokids.com\/uk\/discover\/science\/general-science\/all-about-plastic\/","title":{"rendered":"All about plastic!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plastic has been all over the news lately because of the ways it can damage our planet \u2013 but how much do you REALLY know about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Plastic is in so much stuff\u00a0that it’s almost impossible\u00a0to picture our lives\u00a0without it! The chairs you sit on,\u00a0the jumper you’re wearing, your\u00a0smart phone, toys and pens are\u00a0all made up of this material. Not\u00a0to mention car parts, bike bits,\u00a0bank notes, washing machines\u00a0and even windows. So where\u00a0did the material come from?<\/p>\n

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Plastic history<\/h3>\n

The first synthetic plastic was made in 1907,\u00a0when a Belgian named Leo Baekeland\u00a0invented Bakelite in a lab in New York.\u00a0Known as ‘The Material of 1,000 Uses’, it was\u00a0eventually transformed into phones, radios,\u00a0jewellery, chess sets and more!<\/p>\n

Many chemists continued Leo’s work,\u00a0and soon other types of plastics with\u00a0different properties were developed, such as\u00a0cellophane in 1912 and nylon in 1935.<\/p>\n

It’s everywhere!<\/h3>\n

Today there are more than 50 kinds of\u00a0plastic and in the past 100 years its invention\u00a0has changed the world as we know it.<\/p>\n

Lightweight, strong and easy to create, it\u00a0has been used in endless ways. And because\u00a0it’s so cheap to make and buy, it has replaced\u00a0other more expensive natural materials, such as\u00a0wood, metals, silks and animal skin. But there\u00a0IS a downside to this super useful material\u2026<\/p>\n

Plastic problems<\/h3>\n

Unfortunately, some of plastic’s best properties \u2013 its\u00a0durability and long-lasting life \u2013 are the things\u00a0that cause problems in the environment. Many\u00a0plastics, such as water bottles and packaging,\u00a0are designed to be used just once. Unless they’re\u00a0recycled, they remain on our planet, clogging up\u00a0landfills, and making their way to the ocean where\u00a0they can harm sealife.<\/p>\n

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