PLASTIC IS FANTASTIC

Plastic is a fantastic discovery! It’s getting a bad rap these days, although it’s not the plastic per se, but how it is being discarded. Civilization today would not be as civilized were it not for plastic. Food preservation, medical uses, automobile applications, clothing, tools, weapons for national defense, games and toys, electronics, entertainment, straws – government, homes, businesses, churches – these are some of the products and recipients of wonderful plastic.

Of course there is not just one plastic, but thousands of chemical compounds that make up what we call plastics. Plastics are made from petroleum, cellulose, coal, natural gas, and other chemicals. There are seven classifications of plastic, each with its own physical characteristics and primary applications.

Life without plastics would be unhealthy and unsafe. This is why God created so many different chemicals and taught humans to use them for the betterment of everyone who has lived in the past 112 years. The first plastic based on a synthetic polymer was made in 1907 from phenol and formaldehyde, and called “Bakelite.” Leo Hendrik Baekeland, a Belgian-born American living in New York State discovered the first viable and cheap synthesis methods for making Bakelite and coined the term “plastic.”

We don’t want to get rid of plastics – we need them more than ever. But we must find a better way to dispose of them. One value of plastics is the thermal energy released in combustion. Some places burn plastics to generate heat and electricity. The fumes need to be scrubbed or collected, of course, but that isn’t hard to do. Some places simply bury them, but they are generally not biodegradable. But burying them is definitely better than littering them where they mar the landscape and may end up in the waters and eventually the ocean. Recycling is a good option, but it seems like the cost of doing so has been prohibitive.

I have faith that as God gave us the means and ways to make plastics, He’ll also inspire us to find a way to deal with their waste stream. Hopefully soon!

COPYRIGHT 2019 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON