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[3] 1856: Parkesine, the first member of the Celluloid class of compounds and considered the first man-made plastic, is patented by Alexander Parkes. [4] 1869: John Wesley Hyatt discovers a method to simplify the production of celluloid, making industrial production possible. 1872: PVC is accidentally synthesized in 1872 by German chemist Eugen ...
By one estimate, one billion tons of plastic waste have been discarded since the 1950s. [52] Others estimate a cumulative human production of 8.3-billion tons of plastic, of which 6.3-billion tons is waste, with only 9% getting recycled. [53] It is estimated that this waste is made up of 81% polymer resin, 13% polymer fibers and 32% additives.
There are differing estimates of how much plastic waste has been produced in the last century. By one estimate, one billion tons of plastic waste have been discarded since the 1950s. [32] Others estimate a cumulative human production of 8.3 billion tons of plastic, of which 6.3 billion tons is waste, with only 9% getting recycled. [33] [34] [35]
By using data on surface plastic concentration (pieces of plastic per km 2) from 1972 to 1985 (n=60) and 2002–2012 (n=457) within the same plastic accumulation zone, the study found the mean plastic concentration increase between the two sets of data, including a 10-fold increase of 18,160 to 189,800 pieces of plastic per km 2.
Global Plastic Production (1950-2022) [2] Plastics production has been growing globally. The numbers include thermoplastics and polyurethanes, as well as thermosets, adhesives, coatings, sealants, and PP-fibers. [1] Data was gathered by PlasticsEurope (PEMRG) and Consultic, or the nova-institute. [3] [4]
From the start of plastic production through to 2015, the world produced around 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste, only 9% of which has been recycled and only ~1% has been recycled more than once. [7] Of the remaining waste, 12% was incinerated and 79% was either sent to landfills or lost to the environment as pollution. [7]
The patch is believed to have increased "10-fold each decade" since 1945. [16] The gyre contains approximately six pounds of plastic for every pound of plankton. [17] A similar patch of floating plastic debris is found in the Atlantic Ocean, called the North Atlantic garbage patch.
A plastic is considered a bioplastic if it was produced partly or wholly with biologically sourced polymers. A plastic is considered biodegradable if it can degrade into water, carbon dioxide, and biomass in a given time frame (dependent on different standards). Thus, the terms are not synonymous. Not all bioplastics are biodegradable. [44]