Essay On Plastics

PLASTICS

1. INTRODUCTION:

Plastic is a material comprising of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organics that are malleable and can be formed into solid objects of various shapes. Plastics are typically organic polymers of high molecular mass, however they often contain other substances. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from petrochemicals, but many are partially natural.

Because of their relatively low cost, ease of manufacture, versatility, and impenetrability to water, plastics are utilized as a part of a huge and extending scope of items from paper clips to spaceships. They have already displaced many traditional materials, such as wood, stone, leather, paper, metal, glass, and ceramic, in the vast majority of their former uses. In developed countries, around 33% of plastic is utilized as a part of packaging and 67% of plastic in buildings for e.g. piping used in plumbing or vinyl siding. Other uses include automobiles (up to 20% plastic), furniture, and toys. In the developing world, the proportions might be diverse - for example, reportedly 42% of India 's consumption is used in packaging. Plastics have many uses in the medical field as well, however the field of plastic surgery is not named for use of plastic material, but rather the more generic meaning

Many chemists contributed to the materials of plastics, including Nobel laureate Hermann Staudinger who has been called "the father of polymer chemistry" and Herman Mark, known as "the father of polymer physics". The success and dominance of plastics starting in the early 20th century led to environmental concerns regarding its slow decomposition rate after being discarded as waste due to its composition of very large molecules. Toward the end of the century, one way to deal with this issue was met with wide efforts toward recycling.