What would this past holiday gift-giving season be without plastics? Based on my own family's experience this season, 90% of all of the gifts received contained some form of plastic material. Dolls, toys, bicycles, helmets, DVDs, games, CDs, and even the packaging material all have been molded from some form of plastic.
Polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polycarbonate are not your everyday household terms. However, most consumers are familiar with the products that are made from those petrochemical components.
High-tech gifts
One of the most popular items on most children's list for the holidays is a shiny, new bicycle. Plastics today have helped make bicycles lighter and more durable. The carbon-reinforced fiberglass frame makes this possible. Tires and pedals contain Nylon for their durability and strength.
Also today, plastics make helmets an important piece of safety equipment for bike riders and skaters. Most helmets have a hard, crack-resistant outer shell made from injection-molded plastic, such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene or fiberglass. Helmet interiors contain plastic foam pads, constructed from ethylene vinyl acetate, which are designed to spread the force over a larger area of the head, while providing a proper fit.
Plastics have come a long way in entertainment-based gifts as well. Whether it is music on a CD or a movie on a DVD, plastics have improved the quality of our audio and video equipment.
CDs are made from injection-molded clear polycarbonate and are virtually wear-resistant. DVDs offer a better picture; crisp, clear sound; and have a high storage capacity based on the same technology of the CD.
What about the packaging material for these gifts? DVDs and CDs are wrapped in cellophane while baby dolls and other toys are kept upright in their boxes using plastic wires. And don't forget the plastic "peanuts" used to protect shipped presents to loved ones.
History of plastics
In 1866, celluloid was discovered when John Wesley Hyatt, an American, spilled a bottle of collodion and it hardened into a flexible, firm film. Adding camphor made this collodion into the first thermoplastic—a substance molded under heat and pressure that maintained its shape after the heat and pressure were removed.
In 1907, Leo Baekeland, a New York chemist, discovered the first liquid resin, which he called Bakelite. The resin hardened rapidly and took the shape of any container. Unlike the celluloid thermoplastic, this material would retain its shape and form under any circumstance.
1913 brought about the invention of cellophane. Swiss textile engineer Jacques Edwin Brandenberger was interested in making a clear, protective layer so that fabrics would not get soiled. He added a product called Viscose (now known as Rayon) to cloth. A later invention produced Viscose sheets that were eventually marketed as cellophane.
Cellophane would start the craze of plastics in the 1920s. DuPont was the innovator of the time, creating a new, tough plastic called Nylon, which was used to replace silk stocking materials as well as the animal hair used for toothbrushes.
PVC was another important innovation in plastics developed by a B.F. Goodrich organic chemist. PVC was inexpensive, fire-resistant, and could fit any mold.
In 1933, Ralph Wiley created polyvinylidene chloride; better know as Saran, to protect military equipment. It is best known for food packaging today. Another DuPont chemist discovered Teflon in 1938, known for its slipperiness; another great product for the kitchen.
Also in 1933, chemists came upon one of the most revolutionary plastics to be developed—polyethylene—today mostly used to make soda bottles, milk jugs, and shopping sacks.
Silly Putty was one of the best-selling toys in 1949. That plastic was developed by mixing silicone oil with boric acid for a unique compound unlike anything.
Velcro, yet another unique plastic product impacted the world in 1957. Swiss engineer George de Maestral devised a product using Nylon that imitated the properties of the weed cocklebur, which would use thousands of tiny hooks to cling to anything that it came into contact with.
The thought of a world without plastics is almost inconceivable today. It's difficult to imagine life before plastic storage bins, plastic shopping bags, plastic toys, or Velcro on anyp child's shoes.
And Silly Putty is still a hit in my home!
