G08: Sciences - Synthetic Materials: Plastic Products

There’s a new sheriff in town—and plastic shopping bags are taking the heat. With Chicago the latest city to jump on the bandwagon of 160+ other U.S. cities (and potentially the whole of California) in outlawing plastic bags, it’s simple to assume that easy-to-recycle paper bags are the greener choice. But as the dust settles on the paper-plastic showdown, a closer look reveals the paper bag has its holes, too

As you wrap­ up your weekly grocery shopping and get in line at the supermarket, it's time for yet another difficult choice. The cashier mechanically spouts at you, "Paper or plastic?" referring to what kind of bag you'd prefer. For some people, it's a stressful decision.

Plastics are everywhere. While you're reading this article, there are probably numerous plastic items within your reach (your computer, your pen, your phone). A plastic is any material that can be shaped or molded into any form -- some are naturally occurring, but most are man-made.

Plastic bottle manufacturing takes place in stages. Plastic bottle manufacturers generally use one of four types of plastic to create bottles. Typically, the plastic bottles used to hold potable water and other drinks are made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), because the material is both strong and light. Polyethylene (PE) in its high-density form is used for making rigid plastic bottles such as detergent bottles and in its low-density form for making squeeze bottles.

If you’ve been in a supermarket lately, you’ve probably seen shelves full of “natural” peanut butter, which usually contains just peanuts and salt. The name distinguishes it from the peanut butter many of us grew up with, which you might justly call “unnatural” since it contains a host of wild-card ingredients such as hydrogenated rapeseed oil and mono- and diglycerides.

If you do your own grocery shopping, you’ve probably noticed that most food packaging is plastic. There are plastic jars that hold peanut butter, plastic tubes of tomato paste, plastic squeeze bottles of ketchup, plastic bottles of soda, and plastic pouches to hold single- and bulk-serving sizes of just about any other food. Even the raw vegetables and fruits from the produce section usually end up wrapped in a plastic bag to protect them until they make it to the refrigerator.

Whether you're on a quest to prevent food waste or you simply want to store prepared food, reusable containers can do the job. But are some food containers safer than others when it comes to personal and environmental health? Here's what you need to know.

From an environmental point of view, most people have already got their answer in mind when it comes to using plastic or paper, the answer of which is neither, but what about plastic or glass? While some people still think that glass is better than plastic because of its eco-friendliness, plastic has its fair share of fans too, mainly because of one reason. Plastic and glass are both recyclable, but since glass can only be recycled and turned into more glass, it limits its options. On the other hand, since plastic loses its integrity, it can be recycled into a number of products from carpet filling to plastic lumber and so on.

Americans consumed 14.4 billion gallons of bottled water in 2019, up 3.6% from 2018, in what has been a steadily increasing trend since 2010. In 2016, bottled water outsold soda for the first time and has continued to do so every year since, making it the number one packaged beverage in the United States. 2020 revenue for bottled water was $61.326 million by June 15, and the overall market is expected to grow to $505.19 billion by 2028.

Now you see it, now you don't. Glass is a bit of a riddle. It's hard enough to protect us, but it shatters with incredible ease. It's made from opaque sand, yet it's completely transparent. And, perhaps most surprisingly of all, it behaves like a solid material... but it's also a sort of weird liquid in disguise!

Plastics are in products we use every day that help keep us safe. They are in bicycle helmets, child safety seats, and automotive airbags that protect us and the cell phones that connect us. Plastics also help keep the foods we eat and serve to our families safer and fresher than ever before.

Learn more at: https://www.americanchemistry.com/chemistry-in-america/chemistry-in-everyday-products/plastics