How did we get here and the reasons for the success of plastic in the modern era
PMMA (Plexiglas)
The first synthetic polymer was invented in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt
He was inspired by a New York firm's offer of $10,000 for anyone who could provide a substitute for ivory
Plastics Industry
Association Founded
In 1900 a researcher, Edwin Brandenberger, had the idea of creating transparent packaging for food
The German professor Fritz Klatte developed manufacturing processes enabling the vinyl industrial development from 1912
PVC
Nylon
Edwin Brandenberger used viscose to develop cellophane
Cellophane
Chemists Barker and Skinner created an organic glass
PLASTICS
Nylon was the first commercially successful synthetic thermoplastic polymer. It resists atmospheric agents and does not rot
Polyethylene
Extremely wide variety of uses from military applications to the manufacture of shampoo bottles
Polystyrene
Nylon, invented by Wallace Carothers in 1935 as a synthetic silk, was used during the war for parachutes, ropes, body armor, helmet liners, and more
Dr. Otto Bayer developed polyurethane
Nylon was first used commercially in a nylon-bristled toothbrush
Nathaniel Wyeth started looking at the potential for carbonated drinks to be stored in plastic bottles
As the world moves into a war economy scientists are asked to search for cost-saving materials
Polyurethane
Nylon Stockings go on sale whereupon they became an instant commercial success with 64 million pairs sold during their first year on the market
Sold under the name Styrofoam, this rigid, low-density material was initially used as thermal insulation for buildings
The first plastic bottles appeared in 1968
Roland Barthes devoted one of his "Mythologies" to plastic: "Plastic has climbed from its pedestal, it is now a household material"
Global production of plastics reaches 15 million metric tons (Mt)
Hight-density polyethylene or HDPE (trade-named Marlex) - Invented by Paul Hogan and Robert Banks
The original recycling symbol was designed in 1970 by Gary Anderson
Coca-Cola Company introduced a two litre PET plastic bottle
First 1-liter PET bottle for carbonated mixers
Nathaniel Wyeth, a Dupont engineer eventually opted for PET and received the patent for bottles
Miniature PET whiskey bottles on airlines
Easy-peel lidding developed by Du Pont-Mitsui Polychemicals
114,000,000
Woodbury, New Jersey becomes the first U.S. city to adopt a curbside recycling program following litter awareness-campaigns in the 1960s and 1970s.
Swanson TV Dinners capitalized on two post-war trends: the popularity of time-saving devices and fascination with the televison. The aluminum trays were replaced with plastic, microwavable trays in 1986
Plastic passes steel production in tonnes
ICI launches Biopol, the first commercially available biodegradable plastic
The Society of the Plastics Industry introduced a voluntary resin identification coding system that provides a consistent system for identifying plastic resins used in packaging containers. PET is #1
The I'm Not A Plastic Bag tote was designed by Anya Hindmarch
Coca-Cola was the first company to launch a beverage bottle made with recycled content, as part of efforts to reduce reliance on petroleum
Patagonia began making clothing with plastics from recycled bottles that were cleaned, melted, stretched, and woven into soft, durable fabrics for fleece jackets and other outdoor gear - process still in use today
Charles Moore discovers the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the world's largest collection of floating garbage when sailing home to Los Angeles
Bottled drinks on the rise in the US
Coca-Cola univeils its PlantBottle, a bottle made of 30% plant-based PET and 70% purified terephthalic acid (PTA)
Ellen MacArthur began her attempt to break the solo record for sailing non-stop around the world
PET silica coating process extends shelf life for Coca-Cola
Polylactic acid (PLA) polymer made from renewable resources (such as corn) is introduced to the packaging market
Ration of Plastics to fish in the ocean (by weight)
Ellen MacArthur quits sailing to focus on the environment and resource management
The prices of baled bottles increased for instance between the years 2000 and 2008 from about 50 Euro/ton to over 500 Euro/ton in 2008
Coca-Cola announces an initiative to recycle or reuse 100% of the beverage cans and PET bottles it markets in the United States
Tonnes of Plastic Produced Globally
2.8 Million Water Bottles Sold in the US
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Carbon emissions amounted to approximately 390 million tonnes of CO2 for all plastics (not just packaging)
After retiring from sailing, Ellen MacArthur announces the launch of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a charity that works with business and education to accelerate the transition to a circular economy
Plastics Share of Carbon Budget
The recycling rate for plastics in general is even lower than for plastic packaging, and both are far below the global recycling rates for paper (58%) and iron and steel (70-90%)
More than 40 years after the launch of the first universal recycling symbol, only 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling
Plastics production
72% of plastic packaging is not recovered at all
When additional value losses in sorting and reprocessing are factored in, only 5% of material value is retained for a subsequent use
Each year, at least 8 million tonnes of plastics leak into the ocean - equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute
The resulting global nonfiber recycling rate increased at a constant 0.7% per annum (p.a.) between 1990 and 2014
Global production of plastics has grown to 311 million Mt
China exports ban prompts investment in USA Recycling initiatives
PET accounts for 7.4% of Eruopean plastics converter demand (total) 49.9 million metric tons
The petrochermical industry used the equivalent of 17.4 million barrels of oil per day, which is just under 20% of global oil consumption
Bottled water consumption exceeded carbonated soft drinks in sales in the United States, growing 8.5%
Plastic accounted for 41.2% of all beverage packing units in 2016 according to same group
The environmental cost of plastic in consumer goods is 3.8 times less than the alternative materials needed to replace it
348 million metric tons produced globally
After decades as the world's largest buyer of scrap materials, in July 2017 China announced that it would no longer permit its domestic buyers to import plastic or paper scrap above a stringent 0.5% contamination treshold, and in January 2018, China's "National Sword" Policy went into effect
Circulate Capital Founded at Our Ocean in Bali. Announces significant funding committed to combat ocean plastic. Founding investors include PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Danone, Dow, Procter & Gamble and Unilever.
In January 2018, the European Commission published its “plastics strategy”. Its aim is to incorporate 10 million metric tons of recycled plastic into new products within the – very short – timeframe of 2025. Plastic-consuming companies will have to present the Commission with their plans for including recycled plastic. This will, of course, increase the demand for recycled plastic, which – it is to be hoped – will fund this “strategy”, estimated to cost around €6 billion.
"National Sword" policy Thousand Metric Tons takes effect
Carbios produces the first bottles containing 100% recycled Purified Terphthalic Acid (rPTA) from textile waste that contains a high PET content. Recycling textile waste into PET opens up access to an additional waste stream of up to 42 million tons per year, worth over $40 billion and offers the chance to decouple PET production from fossil fuel feedstocks
Circulate Capital Ocean Fund (CCOF) in Singapore to provide investment capital to scale local innovative companies or projects that divert waste from the environment and iinto the recycling value chain in South and Southeast Asian countries
In June 2019, Circulate Capital announced a blended finance partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Through this agreement, USAID will provide up to a $35 million, 50% loan-portfolio guarantee through the Development Credit Authority (DCA) to incentivize private capital investment and new business development in the recycling value chain in South and Southeast Asia.
The United States burns six times more plastic than it recycles, according to research in April 2019 by Jan Dell, a chemical engineer and former vice chair of the U.S. Federal climate committee
PACCOR Group and MultiPet complete a pilot scheme to recycle PET trays on an industrial scale.
Nationwide Bottle Bill Proposal - Landmark legislation introduced today that would create a national beverage container deposit system would, if passed, likely increase the U.S. recycling rate for bottles and cans from the current 33% tо 80% according to the Container Recycling Institute (CRI)
Currently, only 10 U.S. states have bottle bills.
The average recycling rate for bottles and cans on deposit in these states is 66%, a stark contrast to the average 23% recycling rate for beverage containers without deposits.
America's Plastic Makers set two circular economy goals: that 100% of U.S. plastic packaging will be recycable or recoverable by 2030, and by 2040 100% of U.S. plastics packaging will be reused, recovered or recycled
In April 2020, a French univerisity announced the discovery of a highly efficient, optimized enzyme that outperforms all PET hydrolases reported so far. This discovery may prove to be an important step towards the concept of a circular PET economy
America's Plastic Makers set two circular economy goals: that 100% of U.S. plastic packaging will be recylable of recoverable by 2030, and by 2040 100% of U.S. plastics packaging will be reused, recovered or recycled
Portman, Stabenow Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral RECYCLE act to Improve Nation's Recycling Programs
The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act --Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) nad Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA_ will reintroduce the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act, the most comprehensive bill to address the plastic pollution crisis ever introduced in Congress
651,800 Americans work in plastic bottles, laminated plastics plate, and sheet manufacturing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
The LEGO Group unveils a prototype LEGO brick made from recycled PET bottles, the latest step in the company’s quest to make its products from sustainable materials. On average, a one-litre plastic PET bottle provides enough raw material for ten 2 x 4 LEGO bricks.
1924
1833
1835
Bakelite
Leo Baekeland created the first entirely synthetic resin: bakelite, which, when heated, rapidly takes the shape of its container
The first PET bottle was recycled
1:5
Plastics Share of Global Oil Consumption
1858
1869
1901
1900
1907
1912
1913
1935
1937
1933
1939
1938
1940
1944
1951
1957
1964
1968
1970
1973
1978
1977
1980
1981
1984
1986
1988
1989
1991
1993
1990
1997
1999
2000
2005
2007
2009
2008
2,800,000
60,000,000
2010
2012
2013
2014
2016
2017
2018
2018
2019
2020
2021
6%
41.2%
311 MT
263, 000, 000
60 million metric tons of plastic
A German study published in 2017 estimated that ten rivers, of which eight are in Asia and two in Africa, account for 90% of plastic waste in the oceans - the Yangstse alone releases 15 million metric tons each year
14%
1%
72%
Plastics recycling topped 100 million pounds (45,000 T.) in the U.S. for the first time in the history of plastics recycling
The Mobius loop was discovered in 1858 by August Ferdinand Mobius
PET IN HISTORY
