Plastic (35 page)

The oldest bridge in the world is the Arkadiko Bridge in southern Greece. Three thousand years ago, masons fit together rough limestone boulders to form a simple arch about twelve feet high and sixty feet long over what once was a river and now is a dry, grassy gully. Looking at the ancient structure, you can almost hear the clatter of horse-drawn chariots crossing in their travels between Mycenaean cities. The Arkadiko dates from the late Bronze Age, which came to an end in a catastrophic collapse that has been variously attributed to volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, raids by other cultures, and climate change.

Today, for better and for worse, we are firmly in the plastics age and facing frightening intimations of ecological collapse. We have at hand the materials to help avert it, tools with which to create a legacy of sustainability. Will archaeologists millennia from now scrape down to the stratum of our time and find it simply stuffed with immortal throwaways like bottle caps, bags, wrappers, straws, and lighters—evidence of a civilization that choked itself to death on trash? Or will they come upon bridges like the one in Wharton State Forest, bridges that, despite their lack of beauty, have an important story to tell: that we were a people with the ingenuity to make wondrous materials and the wisdom to use them well.

Cast of Characters

The plastics we're most likely to encounter—in approximate order of commonness.

Polyethylene:
If there were a popularity contest for polymers, polyethylene would win hands-down. More than a third of all plastics produced and sold worldwide belong to this plastics family. They're tough, flexible, moisture-proof, and exceptionally easy to process, which make them favorites for packaging. Members of the clan include:

• Low-density polyethylene (LDPE):
  used to make bags (for newspapers, dry cleaning, frozen foods, and so forth), shrink-wrap, squeezable bottles, coatings on milk cartons, and hot and cold beverage cups
  
• Linear-low-density polyethylene (LLDPE):
  a stretchier version of polyethylene, used in bags, shrink-wrap, lids, pouches, toys, and flexible tubing
  
• High-density polyethylene (HDPE):
  a hardier variety of polyethylene, used for those ubiquitous plastic grocery bags as well as Tyvek home insulation. In a stiffer incarnation, it's used for the bottles containing milk, juice, detergent, and household cleaners, and for the bags in cereal boxes.
  

Polypropylene:
Though related to polyethylene, this plastic can handle higher temperatures and rougher treatment, giving it a different niche in packaging. It can take the stress and twisting required of bottle caps and hinge-top lids. Its high melting point makes it useful for the reusable containers sold for leftovers; for containers that are filled with hot contents, such as freshly boiled syrup; for incubating yogurt; and for takeout foods. Cars are chock-a-block with polypropylene, inside and out—from the bumpers to the carpeting to the substrate beneath interior fixtures. In textile form, polypropylene allows moisture to escape while staying dry, making it useful in disposable diapers, thermal vests, and even astronauts' space suits.

Polyvinyl chloride (vinyl):
One of the most versatile (and controversial) of all plastics. PVC can take on a staggering variety of personalities—rigid, filmy, flexible, leathery—thanks to the ease with which it can be blended with other chemicals. Vinyl surrounds us at every turn. We use it to side houses; to cover walls, floors, and ceilings; to insulate electrical wires; as "pleather" clothing and Naugahyde upholstery; as the housing and jointing for pipes; and as the pliable plastic in medical devices.

Polystyrene:
Most recognizable whenpuffed up with air into that synthetic meringue known technically as expanded polystyrene and popularly by the trademark Styrofoam. In that guise, it's an excellent insulator—of homes, hot coffee, an order of chow mein, a fragile shipment, our heads (while we're biking). But it can also take the form of a strong, hard plastic, deployed for CD jewel cases, videocassette cartridges, disposable razors, and cutlery. A high-impact version is used for coat hangers, smoke-detector housings, license-plate frames, aspirin bottles, test tubes, petri dishes, and model-assembly kits.

Polyurethane:
Introduced in 1954, polyurethanes are a big family of plastics that come in foamed versions that are variously soft and flexible (think of the cushioning in furniture, cars, and running shoes); tough and rigid (the insulating lining for buildings and refrigerators); and somewhere in between (the padding on dashboards). Polyurethane's supportive abilities take on a whole other meaning when it is spun into a fiber to make Spandex or Lycra or extruded into a thin film for latex-free condoms.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET):
The most prominent member of the polyester family, PET debuted as a wrinkle-proof fiber introduced after World War II, and textiles are still the end use of most polyester. PET soon gained other uses: in photographic and x-ray films, audio- and videotapes. But its biggest claim to fame has come from the benefits it brings to packaging: a glasslike clarity and an unparalleled ability to provide an airtight container, keeping food-spoiling oxygen out and fizz-producing carbon dioxide in. Now almost every kind of beverage comes in PET—possibly even your next bottle of wine.

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene(ABS):
ABS was created in the 1940s by scientists trying to make synthetic rubber. The resulting copolymer of three starting ingredients is a hard, glossy, shock-absorbing, distinctly unrubberlike material that's the stuff of Legos; musical instruments such as recorders and plastic clarinets; golf-club heads; casings for phones and kitchen appliances; automotive body parts; and other light, rigid molded products.

Phenolics:
This family of polymers is descended from the first wholly synthetic plastic, Bakelite. Unlike other common plastics, phenolics cannot be melted and remolded. Strong, hard, capable of insulating against electricity, these plastics are used in electrical fixtures and switch gears, as well as in Formica and cutlery handles. Bakelite, the best-known phenolic and once a plastic that touched every corner of life, has now been mainly sidelined to the world of games, where it's a favorite for making chess pieces, checkers, dominoes, and mahjong tiles.

Nylon:
The name is a DuPont trademark that covers a diverse class of plastics. The same qualities that revolutionized women's stockings—strength, durability, and elasticity—make nylon desirable for a host of other stuff. Born from the search for artificial silk, nylon fibers are used for fabrics, bridal veils, musical strings, carpets, Velcro, and rope. In solid form, other types of nylon are used for machine screws, gears, boat propellers, combs, skateboard wheels, fuel lines and fuel tanks, and the bristles in toothbrushes and hairbrushes.

Polycarbonate:
A family of engineering plastics, polycarbonate was developed to compete with die-cast metal. It can be one of the toughest of plastics, but it's also transparent, a combination that's made it a choice for use in gears, compact discs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, eyeglass lenses, lab equipment, the housing for power tools, and, until recently, containers that you don't want to have shatter, such as baby bottles and sports water bottles. But concerns about the plastic's tendency to leach the chemical bisphenol A have all but eliminated those last uses from the marketplace.

Acrylic:
Clear as glass, but immeasurably tougher, acrylic can stand up to harsh weather and stop bullets, which is a combination that made it ideal for protecting airborne gunners during World War II. These days it's gained service in the presidential motorcade, aboard the Popemobile, and in the teller windows at drive-through banks. But acrylic also reports for many less glamorous duties: airplane windows and submarine ports, outdoor signs and car taillights, residential and commercial aquariums, replacement lenses for cataract sufferers, and as a stand-in for glass shower doors.

Acknowledgments

When I proposed writing an all-around look at the world of plastics, I had no idea how enormous the project would be. Just as plastics reach far into many aspects of modern life, so did my research, taking me into dozens of fields about which I initially knew very little. So I got a lot of help assembling this literary daisy chain. Acknowledging every person I spoke with would take up a second volume. But in addition to those already mentioned in the book, I am indebted to the following for generously sharing their time and expertise:

Raymond Giguere of Skidmore College provided the basic chemistry lessons I slept through in high school. In Leominster, Massachusetts, I had the great good fortune to meet with Louis Charpentier, who began working in plastics in 1927 and who shared with me both his recollections of the industry's early years and his collection of buttons. Marianne Zephir, former curator for the National Plastics Museum in Leominster, which, sadly, closed in 2009, was also helpful to my early research. I was lucky to get insights about the early years of plastic from Julie Robinson, a historian of celluloid, and Don Featherstone, creator of the pink flamingo.

For basic tutelage in polymer technology, my thanks to Jeffrey Wooster and Bob Donald, of Dow Chemical Company; Dan Schmidt, University of Massachusetts at Lowell; and Matt Naitove,
Plastics Technology.
For a glimpse of the wild possibilities polymers offer, my appreciation to Material ConneXion and staffers Beatrice Ramnarine and Cynthia Tyler.

For sharing industry perspectives on various plastics-related issues: Chris Bryant, Keith Christman, Steve Hentges, Jennifer Kill­inger, Steve Russell, and Tim Shestek of the American Chemistry Council; Glenn Beall, Glenn Beall Consulting; Robert Bateman, Roplast Industries; Isaac Bazbaz, Superbag Corporation; Mike Bid­dle, MBA Polymers; John Burke, Food Service Packaging Institute; Bill Carteaux, Society of the Plastics Industry; Mark Daniels, Hilex Poly Company; David Durand, Townsend Solutions; Marc Greene, Axion International; David Heglas, Trex Inc.; Kevin Kelley, Emerald Packaging, Inc.; Tony Kingsbury, Dow Chemical; George Mackinrow, consultant and author of an unpublished account of the bag wars; Robert Malloy, chair of polymer engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell; Ken Pawlak, author of a forthcoming book on plastics in medicine; Alicia Rockwell, Savemart Corp.; and C. A. Webb, Preserve, Inc. Rafael Auras, Diane Twede, and Susan Selke, of the Michigan State University School of Packaging, helped me better understand the science and technology of packaging. I gained a deeper appreciation for the serious business behind the fun of the toy industry with the help of Bill Hanlon, Learning Mates; Robert von Goeben, Green Toys; Dan Mangone, Discovering the World; Sally Edwards, University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Center for Sustainable Production; Tim Walsh, author of
Wham-O Super-Book: Celebrating Sixty Years Inside the Fun Factory
. Kelly Chapman and Stan Chudzik of Goody's were helpful sources of information about the business and technology of combs.

Art and design were new fields to me, happily made more comprehensible thanks to help from George Beylerian, Material ConneXion; Cristiano de Lorenzo, Christie's in London; and Alexander von Vege­sack, Vitra Design Museum. Also thanks to Manfred Dieboldt, a former engineer with Vitra, for his recollections about the making of the Panton chair.

My visit to China would have been all for naught without the help and insights of Fu An, Guangdong Plastics Industry Association; Joe Wong, Innotoys; Victor Chan, Wild Planet; Tony Lau, Canfat Manufacturing; L. T. Lam, Forward Winsome Industries; Sarah Monks, chronicler of the Hong Kong toy industry; Jurvey Gong, ColuComan Chemical Technology; and the invaluable assistance of Steve Toloken of
Plastics News.

For help in explicating the complex mechanisms of endocrine disrupters and the health concerns posed by the use of plastics in medicine, my gratitude to George Bittner, University of Texas at Austin; John Brock, Warren Wilson College; Antonia Calafat, Centers for Disease Control; Earl Gray, Environmental Protection Agency; Russ Hauser, Harvard School of Public Health; Patricia Hunt, Washington State University; Mark Ostler, Hospira, Inc.; David Rosner, Columbia University; Ted Schettler, Science and Environmental Health Network; Rebecca Sutton, Environmental Working Group; and Sarah Vogel, author of a forthcoming book on the politics of bisphenol A. Thanks also to the following health-care administrators and practitioners for conversations about the roles and risks of medical plastics: Valerie Briscoe, John Muir Medical Center; John Fiascone, Tufts University; Julianne Mazzawi and Irena Solodar, Brigham and Women's Hospital NICU; Gina Pugliese, Premier, Inc.; Laura Sutherland, Practice Green Health; and Susan Vickers, Catholic Healthcare West. And my appreciation to attorneys Billy Baggett, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Herschel Hobson of Beaumont, Texas, for describing their experiences in vinyl chloride litigation.

To get up to speed on the complicated science of oceanography and marine debris, I got assistance from Joel Baker, University of Washington; James Dufour, Peter Niiler, and Miriam Goldstein of Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Holly Bamford, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration; David Barnes, British Antarctic Survey; James Ingraham, formerly of NOAA; Kara Lavender Law, Sea Education Association; and Hideshige Takada, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. A particular thanks to the committed folks associated with Project Kaisei, who spent many hours discussing their work with me: Mary Crowley, Michael Gonsior, Andrea Neal, George Orbelian, Dennis Rogers, and Douglas Woodring.

I am also indebted to a number of political activists and policy experts who explicated the intricacies of various plastics-related issues. Their ranks include Vince Cobb, ReusableBags.com; David Allaway, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality; Lindy Coe-Juell, City of Manhattan Beach; David de Rothschild, Plastiki Expedition; Bryan Early, Californians Against Waste; Marcus Erikson, Algalita Marine Research Foundation; Mark Gold, Heal the Bay; Miriam Gordon, Clean Water Action; Joe Greene, Chico State University; Richard Lilly, Seattle Public Utilities; Cheryl Lohrmann, founder of Leave No Plastic Behind; Pam Longobordi, plastic-beach-debris artist; Brady Montz, Sierra Club in Seattle; Heidi Sanborn, California Product Stewardship Council; Sharron Stewart, activist in Lake Jackson, Texas; Leslie Tamminen, Seventh Generation Advisors; Emily Utter, formerly of Chico Bags; Michael Wilson, University of California at Berkeley. Tim Kasser of Knox College offered useful insights on the psychology of consumerism. Mike Verespej of
Plastics News
was a tremendous source of help on the bag fights and other policy debates concerning plastics.