Where would we be without plastic? Have you ever thought about how many items are made of plastic?
Many of today’s products are made of plastic. Plastic is made of synthetic or semi synthetic products. Plastic gets its name because of the fact that it is malleable. Some plastic products are more malleable than others for instance plastic bags, or plastic packaging. And plastic bags are much more malleable than say plastic furniture.
People had experimented with making plastic for centuries and tried to make it with natural polymers. In the nineteenth century charles Goodyear discovered vulcanization of rubber and Alexander parkes created the earliest form of plastic in 1855 when he mixed pyroxylin with alcohol and camphor.
In 1959 the polystyrene foam cup was invented. Today the cup is used in the fast food industry and like other plastic products has become indispensable for our use, just like the plastic bag. In 1959 they had no idea how popular plastic would become.
Others are less malleable than plastic wrap but still somewhat malleable like the plastic bottle. Most plastic water bottles, cups and other items can be recycled and made into chairs, table, toys and even more bottles.
