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What is plastic?

Conor Lillevand

Why is it bad?

The discussion of plastics and their effects is no new topic. For decades, the debate over plastic use, impacts, and roles has sparked heated controversy. But sometimes in issues as large as this one, we can get lost in mainstream superficialities. To accurately address such a prevalent dilemma, we need to know the foundation that it stems from. As James Baldwin said, “It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” So to objectively combat the plastic problem, we need to first ask the right questions. What is plastic? What does it actually do in our environment? How can we help?

By definition–according to the Lexico Dictionary, which is powered by Oxford–plastic is “a synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers that can be molded into shape while soft and then set into a rigid or slightly elastic form.” (“Plastic | Definition of Plastic by Lexico,” 2020) While plastics can be made by organic material (think rubber), most widely used plastics are made from petrochemicals (chemicals that are derived from petroleum). All plastics are made up of long monomer chains (mostly hydrocarbon molecules), but there are two basic groups of plastics: thermoplastics and thermosets. The main difference between the two is their

rigidness and reactions to repeated heating. Thermoplastics can be heated and remolded again; it melts into a softer pliable material above a certain temperature–depending on the specific type of thermoplastic–and resolidifies upon cooling. Thermoset plastics, on the other hand, solidify into a permanent, rigid shape. Upon heating, these plastics will simply burn. The primary molecular difference between the two is their linking patterns. In most plastics, the long polymer chains are independent of one another; whereas in thermosets, their polymers become interconnected in a chemical reaction called ‘crosslinking’.

The Plastic Pandemic