The Use of Plastic — Made Materials in Our Daily Life

ONE of the major innovations of the past century has been the introduction and wide adoption of plastics for many day-to-day applications that previously relied on traditional materials like metal, glass, or cotton. Plastics have revolutionized many industries for several different reasons to include the fact that they resist environmental degradation over time, are generally safe for human beings, are economical and widely available, and are produced with a wide variety of material properties that allow adaptation to many different applications. The word plastic originally meant pliable and strong. Plastic is a polymer, a word that means “made of many parts.” Each type of plastic is made up of different ingredients, including some found naturally in nature, like fossil fuels. It’s these ingredients that give the polymer its flexibility, strength and other properties.

Now we will discuss in full how plastic is made.

1. Plastics are derived from natural, organic materials such as cellulose, coal, natural gas, salt and, of course, crude oil. Crude oil is a complex mixture of thousands of compounds and needs to be processed before it can be used. The production of plastics begins with the distillation of crude oil in an oil refinery. This separates the heavy crude oil into groups of lighter components, called fractions. Each fraction is a mixture of hydrocarbon chains, which differ in terms of the size and structure of their molecules. One of these fractions, naphtha, is crucial to the compound production of plastics.
2. Making Plastic by Adding Carbon Dioxide It is extraordinary that plastic can be made using petroleum. However, it takes a lot of petroleum to make plastic. Various attempts were made to prevent the depletion of this important resource. In December 2009, the Novomer company announced the commercialization of polypropylene carbonate (PPC) material using a combination of carbon dioxide and petroleum. By adding carbon dioxide, the oil needed to make plastic is reduced by half. the effect of detergents on a fish activity you can make as additional information.
3. Making Plastic from Corn. The carbohydrate sugar found in corn can be used to make plastic called polylactide polymer. The discovery of plastic made from corn has reduced our dependence on non-renewable petroleum. Plastic made from corn will melt when heated more than 114 ° C, so that plastic made from petroleum is still used today.

Plastic Type
In general, plastics are classified into two types, namely:
1. Thermoset
A type of plastic that cannot be recycled or printed anymore. Reheating will cause damage to its molecules, such as epoxy resin, bakelite, melamine resin, urea-formaldehyde, polyester, polyurethane.
Example:
Melamine tableware, components/parts for vehicles, electrical equipment such as insulator boxes, switches, sockets, lamp holders, bakers, textile fibers such as Dacron and Teton (polyester).
2. Thermoplastics
The type of plastic that can be recycled or printed again with the reheating process. Such as Acrylic (Perspex), Polyethylene (Polythene), Polypropylene, Poly Vinyl Acetate (PVA), Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC), Polystyrene and ABS, PTFE (Telon).
Example:
Food packaging materials, bottles (Polyethylene), metal substitutes, coatings for cooking utensils (telon), pipes, household items, vinyl records (PVC), electrical insulators, tyro foam, children’s toys (Polystyrene), water faucets, lids bottles, electronic & mechanical machinery components (ABS), food / beverage containers.

Plastic was needed in many of the items we use every day. It was formed getting many shapes and holds up well. Plastics are responsible for our modern life we enjoy today from health and well being, nutrition, shelter, and transportation to safety and security. the simplest example is to use a plastic bottle When people are facilitated to utilize plastic bottles without having to bring glasses from home to drink, try to imagine if there are no plastic bottles, it will make people troubled if they want to drink practically. besides that, we can also use plastic for cooking utensils, which in earlier times when cooking utensils were still made of heavy iron, now the modern era all cooking utensils have been made of plastic to make it easier for people to cook effectively and efficiently,

In the world of medicine, plastic is very important, because of many health equipment made of plastic such as a stethoscope, syringes, patient beds, walkers, wheelchairs, and other tools. The cost of health care has become serious concerning the community, but plastic makes it possible to reduce the cost of care throughout the world. plastic can Increase Safety and comfort.

Now people prefer to carry plastic bags wherever they go, besides being easy to carry, plastic bags can load a lot of goods, are cheap and can protecting food from the surrounding environment, but over time the use of plastic bags is very detrimental to the environment, this is because many people who use plastic and then discard it carelessly, which is where we know that nature cannot decompose plastic, so in this era there are many discourses that must force us to reduce the use of plastic bags so that our environment can be saved from the dangers of plastic waste.

Now that we know what plastic is, its type, its benefits, and its effects, now let’s discuss the dangers that can be caused by excessive use of plastic. starting with being able to trigger climate change. From the production process to consumption, disposal produces high carbon emissions that contribute to climate change because the earth’s condition is heating up. The source of plastic bag material made being from petroleum, which is a non-renewable natural resource, causes environmental pollution in developing countries because factory waste is discharged into rivers and the combustion of methane gas causes carbon emissions into the air.

the second danger of using plastic is that it can pollute the environment. Plastic bags are disposable items with irresponsible post-consumption activities. Unauthorized disposal of plastic bags can cause:

-clogged gutters and bodies of water

-eaten by animals

-damage to ecosystems in rivers and the sea

the third danger from the use of plastic can be life-threatening and human safety like Burned plastic bags can cause air pollution and respiratory problems. In addition, plastic bags used as food containers have the potential to interfere with human health because toxins in plastic bags can move to food. The last danger of the use of plastic is that plastic cannot be decomposed by nature or plastic bags (and other types of plastic) are difficult to decompose on the ground because of their long carbon chains, making it difficult to decompose by microorganisms. Plastic bags will break down hundreds to thousands of years later. Plastic bags that are claimed to be environmentally friendly will also decompose long and will remain trash. Moreover, because it is quickly broken down into microplastic, it will be easier to pollute the environment.

The use of plastic is most closely related to our daily needs. However, unfortunately, excessive use will result in the disruption of the environmental ecosystem. Everything becomes damaged, starting from plants, animals, and humans. The following negative effects of plastic that can disturb the environment:
1. Water and Soil Pollution
2. Interfere with Water Absorption
3. Can Result in Air Pollution
4. The Quality of Water Worsens

Small changes in daily life can reduce the amount of plastic waste. Let’s start by applying this habit:

1. Exchange plastic straws
It is known that Americans use around 500 million plastic straws every day. To help reduce plastic waste, you can replace it with bamboo or steel straws. Bring these eco-friendly straws every time you go to a restaurant.

2. Bring your own drink bottle
Always bring your own drink bottle when traveling. This avoids you buying drinks in plastic bottles or cups. That way, plastic waste can be reduced.

3. Buy an ice cream cone
Every time you buy ice cream, choose with cones, rather than using plastic cups.

4. Limit online purchases
Items sent to your home, sometimes wrapped in plastic. One way to reduce the use of plastic is to limit online purchases. You can buy necessities at the nearest store and then carry them with a tote bag without plastic bags.

5. Don’t litter
If you go on vacation to the beach, make sure there is no plastic waste left there. Plastic waste floating in the ocean can endanger the lives of animals there. Not long ago, baby seals and male pilot whales were found dead from consuming plastic.

6. Recycling
Not all plastic can be recycled. However, some items such as drink bottles and plant pots can be recycled. Create plastic waste into decorations or other items needed at home.

7. Join the community care about the environment
If you have free time on weekends, you can join the community care about the environment. Typically, they will carry out activities to clean up rubbish as well as share information about plastic recycling that is easily applied in everyday life.