Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm on your cell phone shakes you from sleep. You stumble to the shower, dress, brush your teeth, and run a comb through your hair. There’s just enough time to grab a cereal bar and a bottle of orange juice before the school bus rolls down your block. Throwing your binder, folders, and a bag of chips into your backpack, you race out the door.
You’ve been awake for barely an hour, but you’ve already used or touched plastic dozens of times. The material is a big part of our lives. It’s in everything from electronics and food packaging to medical devices and airplanes. Most plastic is human-made, produced using oil and other fossil fuels.
What makes plastic so popular? Unlike natural materials such as wood and glass, plastic is lightweight. It’s also cheap and durable.
Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm on your cell phone shakes you from sleep. You stumble to the shower, get dressed, and brush your teeth. You run a comb through your hair. There is just enough time to grab a cereal bar and a bottle of orange juice before the school bus rolls down your block. Throwing your binder, folders, and a bag of chips into your backpack, you race out the door.
You have been awake for barely an hour. But you have already used or touched plastic dozens of times. The material is a big part of our lives. It is in everything from electronics and food packaging to medical devices and airplanes. Most plastic is human-made. It is produced using oil and other fossil fuels.
What makes plastic so popular? Unlike natural materials such as wood and glass, plastic is lightweight. It is also cheap and durable.