The word plastic itself comes from the Greek word
plasticos, which means to be able to be shaped or moulded
by heat. As we will see, shaping plastics by using heat is a
basic part of nearly all plastics manufacturing
Natural plastics - these are naturally occurring materials that
can be said to be plastics because they can be shaped and
moulded by heat. An example of this is amber, which is a
form of fossilised pine tree resin and is often used in
jewellery manufacture.
Semi synthetic plastics - these are made from naturally
occurring materials that have been modified or changed but
mixing other materials with them. An example of this is
cellulose acetate, which is a reaction of cellulose fibre and
acetic acid and is used to make cinema film.
Synthetic plastics - these are materials that are derived from
breaking down, or ’cracking’ carbon based materials,
usually crude oil, coal or gas, so that their molecular
structure changes. This is generally done in petrochemical
refineries under heat and pressure, and is the first of the
manufacturing processes that is required to produce most of
our present day, commonly occurring plastics.
Synthetic and semi synthetic plastics can be further divided
into two other categories. These two categories are defined
by the ways in which different plastics react when heated.
Thermoplastics - these are plastics that can be softened and
formed using heat, and when cool, will take up the shape
that they have been formed into. But if heat is reapplied they
will soften again. Examples of thermoplastics are acrylic
and styrene, probably the most common plastics found in
school workshops.
Thermosetting plastics - these are plastics that soften when
heated, and can be moulded when soft, and when cool they
will set into the moulded shape. But if heat is reapplied they
will not soften again, they are permanently in the shape that
they have been moulded into. Why this happens we will
look at later. Examples of thermosetting plastics are
polyester resins used in glass reinforced plastics work, and
melamine formaldehyde used in the manufacture of Formica
for kitchen work surfaces.
‘Polymers’ is a general term for all plastic materials and
means that they are organic, carbon based compounds
whose molecules are linked together in long chain patterns.
Later on in this book we will look more closely at the
molecular structure of plastics so that we can understand
how we can make this work to our advantage when
designing and making things. When we talk about plastics in
general we will call them polymers, and when we talk about
specific plastic materials we will give them their real names,
such as nylon or polythene.
COMPOSTABLE PLASTIC
One of the promises that companies often make is that they
will switch from plastic to products that are 100%
compostable. What could be better than packaging products
in materials that decompose naturally in the environment,
like paper? In the battle against the plastic soup, it’s
especially important that packaging decomposes quickly in
the sea. In other words: in water with a low temperature,
little oxygen, and little sunlight. That, however, is not what
companies mean when they talk about ‘100% compostable’,
or biodegradable plastic. Here, they are referring to plastic
that is made from natural raw materials like maize, cane
sugar, or potatoes rather than oil. Nonetheless, these types of
biodegradable plastics still have similar characteristics to
conventional plastic, especially once they reach the marine
environment.
THE PROBLEM WITH BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC
Biodegradable plastics made of natural materials such as
maize or cane sugar, are used for food packaging, disposable
cups, bags, and other similar products. A move to
compostable bio-based plastics is attractive to businesses for
reasons beyond the reduction of plastic pollution: by using
biodegradable plastics, companies are less dependent on oil
and the accompanying fluctuations in the prices of oil
around the world. Compostable plastics also have a lower
CO-2 emission rate. In the Netherlands, there are lower
packaging taxes for companies that choose biodegradable
plastics, but they also have disadvantages. To obtain the
biomass needed for the production of compostable plastic,
valuable agricultural land is needed.
BIOPLASTICS: CONFUSION FOR THE CONSUMER
There is a lot of confusion surrounding bioplastics because
the term is used to convey different things. Does it mean
plastic made from biomass, like maize or starch, with
characteristics that are the same as those of oil-based
plastics? Or does it mean plastic that is biodegradable? And
in the latter case, can they be thrown on the backyard
compost heap, or do they need to be industrially composted?
The different types of bioplastic cannot be easily
distinguished from oil-based plastic. They often end up
being mixed when collected for recycling, either in the
plastic container or in the container for organic waste. This
corrupts either the recycling process for plastic or the
composting process for organic material.
TYPES OF PLASTIC
Plastic isn’t as simple as you may think. Each one of them is
different from the others. Some of them are reusable, the
others produce hazardous material after several uses. Some
are easily recyclable, others need more sophisticated and
intricate handlings in its recycling process.
Take your nearest plastic product, maybe the lunch box you
brought from home, your water bottle, your instant noodle
cup. Study closely, and you might find a number at its back
or bottom. You probably already know what it is. The
number indicates the type of plastic used to make the
product you are holding right now. But do you know exactly
what number you should avoid and what number holds the
biggest chance of damaging the environment?
7 plastic resin codes
To summarize, there are 7 types of plastic exist in our
current modern days:
1 – Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or PETE or Polyester)
PET is also known as a wrinkle-
free fiber. It’s different from the
plastic bag that we commonly
see at the supermarket. PET is
mostly used for food and drink
packaging purposes due to its
strong ability to prevent oxygen from getting in and spoiling
the product inside. It also helps to keep the carbon dioxide
in carbonated drinks from getting out.
Although PET is most likely to be picked up by recycling
programs, this type of plastic contains antimony trioxide—a
matter that is considered as a carcinogen—capable of
causing cancer in a living tissue. The longer a liquid is left
in a PET container the greater the potential for the release of
the antimony. Warm temperatures inside cars, garages, and
enclosed storage could also increase the release of the
hazardous matter.
2 – High-Density Polyethylene
(HDPE)
Quite special compared to the other
types, HDPE has long virtually
unbranched polymer chains which
makes them really dense and thus,
stronger and thicker from PET. HDPE
is commonly used as the grocery bag,
opaque milk, juice container, shampoo bottles, and medicine
bottle.
Not only recyclable, HDPE is relatively more stable than
PET. It is considered as a safer option for food and drinks
use, although some studies have shown that it can leach
estrogen-mimicking additive chemicals that could disrupt
human’s hormonal system when exposed to ultraviolet light.
3 – Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
PVC is typically used in toys, blister wrap, cling wrap,
detergent bottles, loose-leaf binders, blood bags and medical
tubing. PVC or vinyl used to be the second most widely
used plastic resin in the world (after polyethylene), before
the manufacture and disposal process of PVC has been
declared as the cause of serious health risks and
environmental pollution issues.
In the term of toxicity, PVC is considered as the most
hazardous plastic. The use of it may leach a variety of toxic
chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, lead,
dioxins, mercury, and cadmium. Several of the chemicals
mentioned may cause cancer; it could also cause allergic
symptoms in children and disrupt the human’s hormonal
system. PVS is also rarely accepted by recycling programs.
This is why PVC is better best to be avoided at all cost.
4 – Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
As said before, Polyethylenes are
the most used family of plastics in
the world. This type of plastic has
the simplest plastic polymer
chemical structure, making it very
easy and very cheap to process.
LDPE polymers have significant chain branching including
long side chains making it less dense and less crystalline
(structurally ordered) and thus a generally thinner more
flexible form of polyethylene.
LDPE is mostly used for bags (grocery, dry cleaning, bread,
frozen food bags, newspapers, garbage), plastic wraps;
coatings for paper milk cartons and hot & cold beverage
cups; some squeezable bottles (honey, mustard), food
storage containers, container lids. Also used for wire and
cable covering.
Although some studies have shown that LDPE could also
cause unhealthy hormonal effects in humans, LDPE is
considered as a safer plastic option for food and drink use.
Unfortunately, this type of plastic is quite difficult to be
recycled.
5 – Polypropylene (PP)
Stiffer and more resistant to
heat, PP is widely used for
hot food containers. Its
strength quality is somewhere
between LDPE and HDPE.
Besides in thermal vests, and
car parts, PP is also included in the disposable diaper and
sanitary pad liners.
Same as LDPE, PP is considered a safer plastic option for
food and drink use. And although it bears all those amazing
qualities, PP isn’t quite recyclable and could also cause
asthma and hormone disruption in human.
6 – Polystyrene (PS) the use of BPA in baby bottles and children’s sippy cups in
Polystyrene is the Styrofoam we 2012. However, it’s likely still found in many other plastics.
all commonly used for food The bad news is that studies are showing that its
containers, egg cartons, replacement BPS, another chemical in the Bisphenol family,
disposable cups and bowls, may be toxic as well, showing some of the same hormone-
packaging, and also bike disrupting effects as BPA. In addition to BPA and
helmet. When exposed with hot BPS, studies show that plastics leech synthetic estrogen
and oily food, PS could leach styrene that is considered as mimickers into the food or liquids stored inside them, which
brain and nervous system toxicant, it could also affect genes, are linked to cancer, infertility, heart disease, and other
lungs, liver, and immune system. On top of all of those health problems.
risks, PS has a low recycling rate. PVC
7 – Other Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, is widely known as the most
Number 7 is for all plastics other than those identified by toxic plastic for health and the environment. In its
number 1-6 and also plastics that may be layered or mixed production, it releases dioxins, phthalates, vinyl chloride,
with other types of plastics, such as bioplastics. ethylene dichloride, lead, cadmium and other toxic
Polycarbonate (PC) is the most common plastic in this chemicals. It can leech many of these harmful chemicals
category, isn’t used as much in recent years due to it being into the water or food it’s being used to contain, which is
associated with bisphenol A (BPA).  PC is also known by how those chemicals get into our bodies.
various name: Lexan, Makrolon, and Makroclear. Ironically,
PC is typically used for baby bottles, sippy cups, water
bottles, water gallon, metal food can liner,  ketchup
container, and dental sealants. Due to its toxicity, several
countries have banned the use of PC for baby bottles and
infant formula packaging.
The BPA that contained inside PC have been linked to
numerous health problems including chromosome damage
in female ovaries, decreased sperm production in males,
early onset of puberty, various behavioural changes, altered
immune function, sex reversal in frogs, impaired brain and
neurological functions, cardiovascular system damage,
adult-onset (Type II) diabetes, obesity, resistance to
chemotherapy, increased risk of breast cancer, prostate
cancer, infertility, and metabolic disorders.
Added with its very low recycle rate quality, PC is to be
avoided at all cost.

It’s nearly impossible to avoid plastics in our everyday lives,

because it’s literally everywhere. Plastic packaging, plastic
containers, plastic toys—the list goes on. But the thing is
that studies show that plastic is loaded with toxic chemicals
that can harm our health.
Phthalates
Phthalates are plastic softeners used to make something less
brittle. Because these chemicals are not tightly bound to the
other molecules in the plastic, they often “migrate,” moving
from the plastic and finding their way into our bodies.
Phthalates are endocrine disruptors that are linked to
reproductive malformations in baby boys, reduced fertility,
developmental disorders, asthma, and increased allergic
reactions. They’ve also been identified by Project
TENDR (Targeting Environmental Neuro-Developmental
Risks) as “a prime example of chemicals of emerging
concern to brain development.”
These chemicals have been banned from cosmetics in the
European Union, and some phthalates were banned from
children’s toys in the U.S. in 2008. Unfortunately,
phthalates are still so commonly used in U.S. products
that studies show that these chemicals are present in the
urine of 99% of people tested.
BPA & BPA Substitutes
The most famous toxic chemical in plastics is Bisphenol-A,
or BPA, which is a hormone disruptor linked to a whole host
of health problems. The good news is that the FDA banned
Where’s the Plastic In Your Life?
If you answered everywhere, you’re probably not far off.
This versatile material is in our appliances, computers,
clothing, and so much more. Some of the most common
places we find plastic is wrapped around the things we buy
every day. After all, it’s an effective way to keep food and
cosmetics clean and fresh.
But plastic is also lurking in some little known places. When
you take a careful look around your home, the sheer number
of things you’ll find containing plastic may surprise you.
Food packaging. Cereals, crackers, snacks, and many teas
and coffees come in plastic. Most cheese, meat, and yogurt
is packed in plastic, as are many condiments.
Milk (including soy and nut milk) cartons. Waxed cardboard
contains approximately 20% plastic and 80% paper.
Metal cans are often lined with plastic.
Personal care products. In addition to coming in plastic
bottles and tubes, many shampoos, gels, creams,
moisturizers, and make up contain synthetic polymers (read:
plastic). Some may also contain microbeads.
Dental floss and disposable razors are also often made from
plastic base materials.
Synthetic fabrics. Polyester, nylon, rayon, and acrylic yarns
and fabrics are all made from plastic. When washed, these
materials shed millions of microscopic plastic fibers that
eventually wind up in waterways.
 
Baby wipes and diapers. From their inner layer to their
waterproof outer cover, disposable diapers are made
from plastic. Super absorbent polymer makes up the
absorbent inner core, while the outer layer is usually a
petroleum-based plastic or a plastic-treated fabric.
Feminine hygiene products. The average disposable sanitary
napkin contains about two grams of plastic.
Wrapping paper is often a mix of plant fibers and laminated
plastic. Tape, glitter, and stickers also contain plastic.
Chewing gum. Yes, even gum. One common ingredient
included in the “gum base” listed gum labels is polyvinyl
acetate.
Cigarette filters contain cellulose acetate, a form of plastic.
Glues, including school glue and wood glue, contain
polyvinyl acetate, a type of plastic. The glues used to seal
tea bags include polypropelyne, another plastic.
Coffee cups. Even those that appear to be made from paper
often have plastic in the lining.
Best Alternatives to Plastic
Would you like to see less plastic in your home and less
plastic waste in the world? Here are some long-lasting
plastic alternatives available right now.
Stainless steel
Tough and easy to clean, stainless steel options for reusable
food and beverage storage have multiplied in recent years.
You can replace single-use cups, kitchen storage, lunch
boxes, and more with this durable metal.
Glass
While not biodegradable, glass is inert, inexpensive
and infinitely recyclable. And since many food items come
packaged in glass, upcycling glass jars into food storage is a
no-cost way to give your food packaging new life. Jars from
jam, honey, pickles, nut butters, and so much more can be
added to your no-waste toolkit for shopping from the bulk
bins. They can also be repurposed to store leftovers and
homemade drinks, or decorated and turned into homemade
gifts.
Platinum silicone
Made primarily of sand, food grade platinum silicone is
flexible and durable. It’s also heat tolerant, so you can boil,
bake, and cook in these products without danger of
denaturing. Look for silicone products without plastic fillers.
Beeswax-coated cloth
Used primarily as a replacement for plastic wrap and platic
bags, beeswax-coated fabric is easy to use and easy to clean.
It also smells great.
Natural fiber cloth
Natural cloth can replace plastic bags. Sustainable
clothing made from organic cotton, wool, hemp,
or bamboo won’t shed plastic fibers when washed. Felted or
recycled wool is a versatile, safe, and compostable material
for children’s toys, household containers, and more.
Wood
A renewable resource, wood from sustainably-managed
forests can replace plastic in household items like cleaning
brushes, kitchen utensils, and cutting boards.
Bamboo
This fast-growing renewable resource can replace plastic in
items like tableware and drinking straws. It is lightweight,
durable, and compostable.
Pottery and Other Ceramics
Around for milennia, pottery and other fired ceramics offer
a stable, waterproof alternative that’s good for food storage
and tableware. Look for non-toxic glazes.
Paper
In days gone by, many things were packaged in plain paper.
And while better than plastic, paper can’t be recycled
infinitely because every time it’s reused, the fibres get
shorter, limiting its use. Luckily all paper except the glossy
kind is safe to put in your home compost.
Cardboard
Cardboard is fully compostable at home as long as it’s not
coated in, you guessed it, plastic. Many companies are now
packaging their products in plain cardboard to cut down on
waste. You can also use cardboard boxes to replace storage
containers in your home.
Keep in mind that anything you buy has an environmental
footprint. Though longer lasting than plastic, things made
from glass, metal, and so on still take energy to make and
transport. For these swaps to make sense, you need to use
them over and over and over again. Buying well-made,
durable products will help ensure you get the most use from
whatever you choose.
What About BioPlastics?
Bioplastics are biodegradable or compostable plastics made
from natural substances instead of petrolem. The idea is that
these new, earthier plastics can replace the harmful ones in
our food and around our home. This seems like a great
alternative, doesn’t it?
Unfortunately, most bioplastics don’t break down in home
composts, landfills, or loose in the environment.
Unfortunately, most bioplastics don’t break down in home
composts, landfills, or loose in the environment.
Most require commercial composting facilities, which aren’t
always available to the average consumer.
Bioplastics can also contaminate municipal recycling
programs when people unknowingly add them to their
recycling. Many bioplastics even contain significant
amounts conventional plastic.
Scientists and manufacturers generally describe bioplastics
in the following ways:
Non biodegradable. These bioplastics aren’t easily broken
down by organisms. Like anyting (even conventional
plastic), they will eventually degrade after many years.
Partially bio-based, “durable” plastics that are not
compostable. Microrganisms can break these down, but the
process generally takes longer than 3-6 months.
Biodegradable, compostable plastics that need commercial
facilities to decompose. While some newer bioplastics carry
the claim that they will break down in a home compost,
these are not yet the norm.
Made from a range of materials like cornstarch and sugar to
mushrooms and agricultural byproducts, bioplastics are the
latest attempt to prolong our disposable lifestyle.
The solution, according to plastic pollution experts, is not to
continue our reliance on single-use products with different
materials, but to avoid single-use products altogether.
Bioplastics could be "just as bad if not worse" for the planet
than fossil-fuel plastics
Marcus Fairs | 15 April 2019  46 comments
Bioplastics could potentially be worse for the environment
than conventional plastics, according to recycling
expert Arthur Huang.
Switching to plastic made from plants instead of fossil fuels
would require vast amounts of farmland, Huang said. This
could cause environmental problems and deprive humans of
food.
Huang, founder and CEO of circular-economy engineering
company Miniwiz, added that bioplastics can cause damage
when they are composted. They make soil and water more
acidic, he claimed, potentially polluting both land and
ocean.
"If we use them the same way [as conventional plastics]
they are just as bad if not worse," he said. "They change the
pH value of soil and water as they degrade, and they take
away valuable food supplies," he said.
Huang cited a United Nations report from 2015 that raised
concerns that the public would recycle less if they thought
the plastic they used would harmlessly degrade if discarded.
PLA is compostable, not biodegradable
An architect and engineer, Huang has pioneered techniques
for recycling plastic. In 2017 he collaborated with Nike to
design sneaker packaging made from recycled drinks
containers.
Polylactic Acid (PLA), the most common type of bioplastic,
is made from fermented starch extracted from crops such as
corn, potatoes or sugar cane. It can also be made from algae.
Conventional plastic in soil or the ocean is "largely an
aesthetic problem" says Huang
PLA is compostable, meaning microbes will break it down
harmlessly into biomass and gas within a few months, given
the right conditions. They are not biodegradable, since under
normal conditions they will break down just as slowly as
conventional plastics.
However since PLA is an acid, it will raise the acidity of its
surroundings as it composts, according to Huang.
"It's like us dumping lots of orange juice into the ocean, or
the mouth of a river," said Huang.
Designing with plastics.
There have really been three phases in the use of plastics in
product design. Early designers using plastics either tried to
invent new products or more often copied existing products
made originally in other materials such as ebony, alabaster,
onyx and amber. This meant that for the first time
previously expensive products were affordable by more
people. However this copying process also led to most
people thinking that plastics were just a cheap substitute for
real materials. The second phase in the use of plastics during
the 1940s and 1950s was the mass production of large
volumes of cheap, badly made, badly designed, products,
often through a manufacturing process called injection
moulding. This gave plastics a reputation for poor quality
goods. Although there were many plastics goods made
which were well designed and of very good quality, by the
end of the 1940s the word ‘plastics’ had come to many
people to mean cheap and nasty. In the 1950s modernist
designers began to look again at plastics to produce the new
kinds of products that fitted into their idea of a modern
world. At this 14 time Gino Colombini working for the
Kartell design group in Milan designed a range of everyday
domestic objects, such as vegetable baskets, which were
very well designed and made to a very high quality. This
was one of the starting points for post-war designers who
believed that plastics could be used well and as materials in
their own right. Fig.8. A polythene vegetable basket. One of
the major successes in exploiting the virtues of plastic was
the invention in 1949 of Tupperware. Earl S. Tupper, an
American manufacturer, used polyethylene to create
inexpensive and lightweight food containers. The key to the
success of Tupperware was the re-sealable lid that utilised
the elasticity and flexibility of polyethylene. Fig.9. A
Tupperware bowl. The early 1950s saw the introduction of
plastics which were tailor made materials to fit special
requirements. A tougher form of polythene called
highdensity polyethylene (HDPE) was developed and in
1954 polypropylene was introduced. These materials were
developed specifically for their material properties, and
designed and made in a predetermined way, and nowadays
individual plastics are still being developed which may be
stronger than steel, withstand high temperatures, be used as
glues in resin form or even conduct electricity. The 1980's
saw the development of composites, a new generation of
lightweight, yet immensely strong structural materials.
Polymer based composites are polymer resins mixed with
fibres. The length and material of the fibres alter the nature
of the material, for example, glass fibre is flexible whereas
carbon fibres are stiff. The defence industry was the main
developer of composite materials with the need for light,
high performance materials that could withstand the
demands of high speed flight. 15 The use of plastics has
been an important part in the history of engineering and
product design in the twentieth century. They have given us
the ability to develop a range of products in a very wide
number of areas, from lightweight unbreakable containers,
safe hygienic toys and inexpensive household objects to
artificial limbs and life saving medical equipment.
The early history of polymers.
The three-part classification of polymers that we have just
looked at gives us an insight into the history of their use.
Naturally occurring plastic materials can be found in the
forms of animal bones, horns, tortoise shells, the fossilised
resin from pine trees (amber), the albumen in egg, the sap
from various tropical trees, and the wax from bees, and
many of these natural polymers are still in use today.
Casein, derived from milk, is still used to manufacture 4
buttons. Bitumen is still used in surfacing roads and shellac,
which was used for early gramophone records, is still used
in the production of wood varnish. Shellac, which is
produced by the lac beetle, was used by early Chinese
cultures as a varnish and as such is still in use. In the
nineteenth century it was mixed with fillers and moulded
into brush backs, mirrors and picture frames. Fig.2. A
shellac picture frame, known as a union case, made about
1860. Papier mache, which because of its mouldable
properties can be considered a plastic, was patented in 1772.
Gutta Percha, which, like latex, is extracted from tropical
trees, was used to make a wide range of household items
and also to insulate the first submarine telegraph cable
between Dover and Calais. It is still used in the manufacture
of some types of golf balls. In 1838 Charles Goodyear
heated latex rubber with sulphur to make a durable and
elastic material. He found that the more sulphur that he
added the harder the material became and he termed his new
invention ‘vulcanite’. This was the first time that a natural
polymer had been deliberately modified and so was the first
of the semi synthetic materials. One of the uses found for it
was to make match stick holders. It is still used today,
moulded into pipe stems, and mouthpieces for musical
instruments. Fig.3. A vulcanite matchbox, known as a vesta
case, made about 1880. 5 Bois Durci, which is made of
cellulose in the form of finely ground wood blended with
albumen from cows’ blood, was patented in France in 1855.
It was compression moulded in a heated mould and often
used to make ornate plaques that were inlaid into furniture.
In the nineteenth century manufacturing meant huge
increases in the mass production of goods. A rapid increase
in population, a general improvement in the standard of
living and the growth of towns and cities brought with them
an increased desire for material goods, especially as status
objects. As traditional crafts were superseded by
mechanisation (making things by machines instead of by
hand) and the volume of production increased, new
materials were needed to replace expensive natural materials
like horn and ivory. In 1862 a material called Parkensine
was exhibited at the Great International Exhibition in
London. It caused a lot of interest as a plastic material that
could be used to make high quality products. It could be
repetitiously moulded, in colours, and with a finely detailed
surface. Its inventor, Alexander Parkes, had made it by
dissolving cellulose in the forms of wood flour and cotton
waste in nitric acid, thereby making cellulose nitrate. In
1866 Parkes set up a manufacturing company, but he could
not control the quality of the product due to its brittleness
and was forced into bankruptcy. Cellulose nitrate was first
adopted commercially in America in 1869 where the Hyatt
brothers made a much more mouldable version of it by
mixing the cellulose nitrate with camphor. Cellulose nitrate
was given the trade name of ‘celluloid’ and as ivory was in
short supply at the time one of its first uses was the
manufacture of billiard balls. However it was soon
discovered that celluloid made from cellulose nitrate was
explosive, and when you banged the billiard balls together
they sometimes blew up! Celluloid made from cellulose
acetate was developed to overcome this problem, and this is
still used today in the manufacture of table tennis balls. Very
large quantities of celluloid products were made for the
American and European markets and the material became
the first of the mass-produced plastics. Fig.4. A celluloid
dressing table set made about 1910 . In 1907 a Belgium
chemist living in America called Leo Baekeland, developed
the first truly synthetic plastic called phenol formaldehyde,
much better known under the trade name of ‘Bakelite’.
Bakelite was used initially in 6 electrical goods but soon
began to appear in other consumer products. Since it was
brittle it was strengthened by adding wood dust to it, which
is why much early Bakelite is brown in colour. This process
of adding other materials to plastics, (called fillers), to give
them strength is an important part of plastics technology
today. Bakelite was an enormously popular material for
domestic products as it was relatively cheap and easy to
manufacture and gave a consistently high quality product.
Many Bakelite products were made that still survive today.
Fig5 A bakelite thermos flask. The early developments in
polymer technology occurred without any real knowledge of
the molecular theory of polymers. The idea that the structure
of polymers in nature might give an understanding of
plastics was put forward by Emil Fischer, who in 1901
discovered that natural polymers were built up of linked
chains of molecules. It was not until 1922 that the chemist
Herman Staudinger, proposed that not only were these
chains far longer than first thought, but they were composed
of giant molecules containing more than a thousand atoms.
He christened them ‘macromolecules’, but his theory was
not proved until 1938 when the first plastic was created with
a predictable form. This was the first synthetic fibre, nylon.
As metal replaced wood in many consumer products,
plastics were developed as an even cheaper alternative. The
cost of casting metal increased sharply after World War II,
while plastic could be formed relatively cheaply. For this
reason plastics gradually replaced many things that were
originally made in metal, particularly casings for products.
In the 1930s, Bakelite's easily mouldable properties were
ideal for designers looking for new materials for cheap
domestic products. They wanted a material that could be
massproduced cheaply, yet still produce stylish products.
Now luxury items such as jewellery, which had previously
been made from ivory, could reach the mass market made of
celluloid.