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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Furgang, Adam, author.

Title: Earth’s plastic problem / Adam Furgang.
Description: New York: Rosen Publishing, [2022] | Series: Spotlight on global
issues | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019052501 | ISBN 9781725323148 (paperback) | ISBN
9781725323179 (library binding) | ISBN 9781725323155 (6 pack)
Subjects: LCSH: Plastics--Environmental aspects--Juvenile literature. | Plastic
scrap--Environmental aspects--Juvenile literature. | Plastics--History--Juvenile
literature.
Classification: LCC TD798 .F87 2022 | DDC 363.738--dc23
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 CONTENTS
THE PROBLEM WITH PLASTIC
THE BENEFITS OF PLASTIC
ENVIRONMENTAL WAKE-UP CALL
PLASTIC POLLUTION
MYTHS AND FACTS
TAKE ACTION!
NEW SOLUTIONS
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
GLOSSARY
INDEX
PRIMARY SOURCE LIST
WEBSITES
CHAPTER ONE

THE PROBLEM

WITH PLASTIC
If you look around at cars, toys, and many other things,
you may notice a very common material used in all of them.
That substance is called plastic, and it’s very useful.
Unfortunately, careless and wasteful practices with plastic
have caused many problems, not only for people but also
for countless species of plants and animals and the entire
planet.
Plastic doesn’t naturally occur on Earth. It’s
manufactured from fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and
coal. Plastic hasn’t been around for a very long time.
People first created it during the late 19th century, a little
more than 100 years ago. In that short span of time, we’ve
managed to create 9.2 billion tons (8.3 mt) of plastic. Of
that, over 6.9 billion tons (6.3 mt) has become waste on
land and in the oceans. Scientists have even found small
particles of plastics, called microplastics, in very remote
places. In a recent study, a 2.1-pint (1 L) sample of sea ice
from the Arctic Ocean was found to contain 14,000
particles of plastic.
There have been many efforts to recycle discarded
plastics so they can be made into something new.
Unfortunately, recycled plastics aren’t very common.
According to research from the University of Georgia, over
90 percent of plastics have never been recycled.
 It’s obvious the plastic problem is a big one, but it’s not
being ignored. Efforts by governments all around the word,
as well as those by people just like you, are working to
break our wasteful habits with plastics.
Plastic pollution is a worldwide problem. Over 300 million tons (272.2 million
mt) of new plastic is produced every year. About 8 million tons (7.3 million mt)
of plastic winds up entering the world’s oceans.

Before plastics were invented, other raw materials such

as wood, metal, cotton, glass, and animal bones were used
to manufacture things. In the 1800s, people used elephant
tusks to make many items, including combs, piano keys,
and balls for billiards, a game similar to pool. The use of
elephant ivory caused a sharp decline in the elephant
population. In 1867 the New York Times warned that
elephants were in danger of being “numbered with extinct
species.”
People started looking for substitutes for ivory and other
materials, such as turtle shells. In 1869, a chemist named
John Wesley Hyatt invented a new material from cotton
cellulose, a plant polymer. A polymer is a large molecule
that’s made of many smaller, repeating molecules. Hyatt
and his brother marketed the new material and called it
celluloid. Although it was too hard to be used for billiard
balls, it was good for making many other things, including
combs, buttons, toys, and dice.
Bakelite products such as these art deco radios and clocks are now considered
collectible.

Leo Baekeland created the first synthetic plastic in

1907. “Synthetic” means it’s made entirely from
compounds not found in nature. Using various byproducts
from coal use, Baekeland created a plastic that could be
molded into different shapes. The plastic was called
Bakelite. It was used to make radios, phones, car parts, and
even jewelry, which is now very collectible.
Soon, people created many other plastic formulas, all
with names as unique as their properties. They included
polystyrene, Styrofoam, and nylon. In time, manufacturers
used nylon to make women’s stockings, parachutes, rope,
and toothbrush bristles.
CHAPTER TWO

THE BENEFITS

OF PLASTIC
During World War II (1939 to 1945), plastic production
in the United States increased by 300 percent. Many
traditional materials were expensive or hard to come by
during this time, and plastics helped fill in the gap. From
parachute cords and ropes made of nylon to aircraft
windows made out of plexiglass, plastic was becoming
more common and more useful.
After World War II, the plastic industry began
manufacturing products for buyers as inexpensive
alternatives to traditional household items. Tupperware,
the now-common food storage container, was introduced in
1948. In the 1950s, a hard plastic called Formica was used
to make colorful kitchen countertops and tables.
A Swiss engineer named George de Mestral invented the
“hookand- loop” fastener Velcro in 1941. Mestral was
inspired by natural cockleburs he found stuck to his pants
in the woods. Today Velcro is used for many things. It has
replaced safety pins on diapers and shoelaces on kids’
sneakers.
 Plastics have also made vehicles safer. Because plastic is
lightweight and still very strong, plastic parts have
replaced many heavier metal parts in cars and airplanes.
Safety airbags in cars are made from nylon.
Plastics are also used in the healthcare industry. Many
items, such as surgical gowns, face masks, gloves, and IV
bags, are all made from plastics.
A durable plastic called Kevlar is used in bulletproof
vests to protect police. There’s no doubt that the benefits
and uses of plastics today are numerous.
In this picture, taken in 1946, women wait in line to buy nylon stockings.
During World War II, nylon was used to make war materials, creating stocking
shortages throughout the United States.
CHAPTER THREE

ENVIRONMENTAL

WAKE-UP CALL
During the 1960s, the average person in the United
States used about 30 pounds (13.6 kg) of plastic yearly.
Now the average person uses 220 pounds (99.8 kg) of
plastic yearly. As of 2019, global plastic production is at
300 million tons (272.2 million mt) a year. If the present
trend continues, there could be 12 billion tons (10.9 billion
mt) of plastic in landfills by 2050.
By the 1960s, people were beginning to take notice of
plastic waste. The first record of a plastic bag in the ocean
took place in 1965. Scientists using plankton-sampling
equipment accidentally snagged a plastic bag.
Other environmental incidents drew people’s attention.
Smog, which is heavy ground-level air pollution, was
noticed in large cities such as New York and Los Angeles in
the late 1950s and early 1960s. Air quality and pollution
became a topic of concern.
In 1969, an oil platform spilled 100,000 barrels of oil
into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Santa Barbara,
California. The spill washed up along 35 miles (56.3 km) of
coastline and killed many animals. Public outcry resulted in
many new environmental laws and regulations, including a
ban on offshore oil-drilling platforms.
The modern environmental movement was taking shape.
By 1970, something special took place. People held the first
Earth Day demonstrations across the United States on April
22, 1970. Many consider the first Earth Day to be the
official start of the modern environmental movement.
Yukihisa Isobe designed the first Earth Day poster, pictured here, for the
Environmental Action Coalition.

As plastic use in America increased, so did litter

awareness. In 1953, a group of leaders formed a nonprofit
anti-litter organization called Keep America Beautiful. The
organization launched public service announcements to
promote responsible anti-litter habits.
To help control air pollution, Congress passed the Clean
Air Act in 1963. By 1965, the law was amended to include
the Solid Waste Disposal Act. This was the first federal law
that regulated the disposal of waste with the future of the
environment in mind.
Plastic waste that didn’t make its way into garbage
dumps was more than an eyesore. It affected animals badly.
In 1969, biologist Eugene Kridler and zoologist Karl
Kenyon were the first to report that Hawaiian seabirds had
mistakenly eaten plastic.
Increased efforts to take care of the environment
continued. In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed an
executive order and established the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
Throwing plastic into the garbage didn’t help reduce the
amount that was being produced. To reduce plastic
production, people needed to embrace recycling. In 1971,
Oregon passed the first bottle deposit law. In 1980,
Woodbury, New Jersey, became the first city in the United
States to start a recycling program.
In the 1970s, there were many antilitter ads throughout the United States.
This poster shows many common items that can be recycled rather than being
discarded.

Unfortunately, early efforts to recycle plastic didn’t go

far enough. Plastic items were inexpensive to produce, and
in 1979, the plastic bag was introduced in grocery stores
across the United States. Despite efforts, the plastic
problem was getting worse. Today, people use 10 billion
plastic bags in the United States every year.
CHAPTER FOUR

PLASTIC

POLLUTION
About 71 percent of Earth’s surface is covered by water.
A great deal of plastic debris enters the oceans each year.
The estimates vary, but the numbers are big. Somewhere
between 8.8 million and 20 million tons (8 million and 18.1
million mt) of plastics enter the oceans every year. About
40 percent of all plastic waste comes from single-use
plastic items. These are items that are only used once
before being thrown away. Some examples of single-use
items are plastic beverage bottles, food packaging, straws,
and bags. Other plastic items that wind up in the oceans
come from discarded fishing gear, such as nets and fishing
lines.
Wind and ocean currents around the world, as well as
Earth’s rotation, create large circular ocean currents called
gyres. There are five major ocean gyres around the world.
Because of their circular currents, great amounts of plastic
debris accumulate in these gyres.
In 1997, a sailor named Charles Moore discovered
plastic debris floating everywhere in the North Pacific
Ocean gyre. Today, that gyre has become known as the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Moore was so upset by the
garbage he found floating in the gyre that he dedicated his
life to studying plastic waste in the oceans.
 Today, there’s about 87,000 tons (79,000 mt) of plastic
in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, most of which comes
from discarded fishing gear. People are paying more
attention to garbage patch gyres, so efforts to clean up
plastics from the world’s oceans have increased.
Plastic litter kills as many as 100 million ocean animals every year.
Leatherback sea turtles often mistake plastic bags for their natural food,
jellyfish, which results in 100,000 deaths each year.

Plastic ocean garbage gets a great deal of attention. But

there’s growing evidence that land-based plastic pollution
is just as bad, if not worse. Just as sea animals consume
plastic, land animals do too. In some cases, land animals
have gotten caught in plastic twine, and some have had
their heads stuck inside plastic food containers. Birds will
often use plastic debris to make nests, which may be
harmful to their young.
Because plastic is so durable, it breaks apart into
smaller pieces long before it biodegrades into less harmful
parts. No one knows exactly how long it takes plastic to
completely biodegrade, but some estimate it may take as
many as 450 years. Some think that plastic may never
completely biodegrade.
 Small pieces of plastic are called microparticles. These
are smaller than 0.2 inch (5 mm). Nanoparticles are much
smaller. These plastic particles get into fresh water, soil,
and sewage, or waste. Over time, they enter the food chain
and wind up inside animals and humans. These plastic
particles pose a risk to both plants and animals. Smaller
pieces of plastic release harmful chemicals more easily
than larger ones do. These chemicals can pollute the water
or soil. These plastics and chemicals can hurt animals that
ingest, or consume, them. Larger plastic pieces can block
animals’ intestinal tracts, sometimes leading to death.
In order to solve the plastic waste problem, people are
now examining single-use items more than ever before.

Plastic land pollution poses health risks to plants and animals, including
humans. More than half of all plastics ever produced sit in landfills where
harmful chemicals can leach, or leak, out and contaminate soil and
groundwater.
CHAPTER FIVE

MYTHS AND FACTS

There are many myths and misunderstandings about
plastic. The wrong information can lead to poor decisions
about the best way to be responsible with this material.
Here are a few common myths and facts about this useful
polymer, which has also become a very large problem.

Myth: Plastic eventually biodegrades and will be

harmless to the environment.
Fact: Because plastic hasn’t been on Earth for very long,
no one is exactly sure how long it takes to break
down. Some of the first plastics created are still in
the environment.

Myth: In the world’s oceans, there are gigantic floating

islands of plastic garbage that you can walk on.
Fact: Despite the many tales about the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch and other gyres of plastic in the
world’s oceans, they aren’t giant floating islands.
None of the concentrations of plastic in the oceans
can be walked on. Most of the plastic contained in
the sea is under the surface and can’t be seen.

Myth: Not all plastic is recyclable.

Fact: Most plastic can be recycled, but over 90 percent
of all plastics that have been produced have never
been recycled. If recycling is available where you
live, check to see what kinds of plastics are
accepted for recycling. Recycling sorting centers
are constantly improving and accepting more
types of plastics. Even if a certain recycling center
doesn’t take a certain plastic, that doesn’t
necessarily mean it can’t be recycled.
Not all plastic pollution is visible. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is partly
made up of huge amounts of microplastics, which make the water look cloudy.
CHAPTER SIX

TAKE

ACTION!
Using a single plastic straw or plastic bag may not seem
like a big deal, but personal plastic usage adds up over
time. Despite efforts, plastic pollution continues to
increase. Since 2000, humans have used more plastic than
they’d used in all the years before. In 2017, the average
person from North America used 220 pounds (99.8 kg) of
plastic. Most of this was from single-use plastics. If current
usage rates continue, that number will double by 2030.
In 2012, Hawaii became the first state to ban plastic
bags with local laws. In 2014, California became the first
state to ban single-use plastic bags with a state law. As of
2019, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New York, Oregon,
and Vermont have also banned single-use plastic bags.
Some of these laws don’t go into effect right away. But
there’s no need to wait for a new law to reduce personal
plastic usage. Here are a few steps everyone can take now
to cut down on plastics and make a difference:

•  Stop using plastic straws. You could use a reusable

straw instead.

•  Stop using disposable cups when you buy ice cream.

You can eat a cone and it doesn’t require a spoon.
 •  Quit using disposable lunch bags and plastic wrap.
Instead, make a reusable cloth lunch bag. You can also
now find reusable food wrappers.

•  Use reusable water bottles instead of single-use

bottles.

Using plastic alternatives can have a big impact. This

way, everyone can help with the global plastic cleanup.
Make a difference! If a person uses reusable shopping bags for their entire life,
they could save as many as 22,000 plastic bags from being discarded.

For many decades, China imported about half of all

worldwide plastics collected for recycling. In 2017, in an
effort to improve the environment there, China stopped
accepting plastic from around the world.
The sudden ban created an oversupply of plastic waste
and left many countries wondering what to do with their
plastics. This also acted as a wake-up call that moved some
countries to action. In 2018, the European Parliament voted
to ban single-use plastics across the entire continent. The
law was approved in 2019 and will take effect in 2021.
There are also efforts to recycle 90 percent of all plastic
bottles in Europe by 2029.
The global adjustments haven’t been easy. As a result of
China’s decision, many cities in the United States have
recyclable plastics piling up. Several cities have stopped
recycling altogether.
Balinese sisters Isabel and Melati Wijsen said their efforts were inspired by the
work of leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.

Long before China’s nationwide ban on imported plastic

waste, two sisters from Bali, Indonesia, were already
working towards solutions. Isabel and Melati Wijsen were
only 10 and 12 years old in 2013, when they got fed up with
the plastic waste in their country and decided to fix the
problem. Indonesia is the second-largest plastic polluter of
the world’s oceans.
With signature campaigns and cleanup efforts, the
determined duo got the attention of the Bali government,
which is now working to reduce plastic bag use through
awareness and bans. The sisters also started Bye Bye
Plastic Bags, an international nongovernmental youth
organization helping reduce plastic waste in over 25
locations.

In 2011, a Dutch teenager named Boyan Slat was diving

off the coast of Greece when he saw more plastic bags in
the sea than fish. Overwhelmed by what he witnessed, Slat
decided to take action. In high school and college, Slat
continued to search for a way to rid the world’s oceans of
plastic waste.
Many of the solutions proposed required ships dragging
nets that would also wind up capturing sea animals. Slat
thought of an anchored invention that would float and use
ocean currents to collect plastic debris while keeping
animals safe. The floating collection system would then
carry the captured debris onto a platform for removal.
After crowdsourced fundraising, Slat founded The Ocean
Cleanup in 2013. According to its website,
theoceancleanup.com, “The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit
organization, is developing advanced technologies to rid
the world’s oceans of plastic.” Slat sent the first cleanup
system off the coast of Japan in 2016, but it didn’t work as
planned. By 2019, after some trial and error,
The Ocean Cleanup had a new system that efficiently
captured ocean plastics. Slat and his team of more than 80
engineers and scientists hope to scale up their efforts and
eventually send out a larger fleet. The Ocean Cleanup
estimates that with reduction of plastics entering the
oceans and cleanup systems in all the world’s gyres, 90
percent of plastic waste in the world’s oceans could be
removed by 2040.
In addition to his system for removing plastic from the world’s oceans, Boyan
Slat has also created an anchored river barge called the Interceptor. It can
catch as much as 55 tons (50 mt) of garbage per day, preventing the trash
from entering oceans.
CHAPTER SEVEN

NEW

SOLUTIONS
The world is too dependent on plastics. Their durable
and malleable properties allow for many different uses.
However, their strengths are also why they don’t break
down when discarded and have been increasingly polluting
the planet since the 1950s.
Because the problem is increasing and the main culprits
are single-use plastic items, many people are working hard
to find plastic alternatives that could be easier on animals
and the environment where they often wind up.
One possible solution is a new biodegradable plastic
manufactured from sugar and carbon dioxide. Researchers
at the University of Bath developed this new form of
plastic, which can break down into its original components
with enzymes found in soil bacteria.
Disposable water bottles create a lot of waste. According
to the Container Recycling Institute, in 2014 there were
roughly 300 plastic bottles manufactured for every person
living in the United States. However, a sustainable
packaging start-up has used seaweed and other plants to
make a new material called Notpla. The material is also the
company’s name. Because Notpla comes from organic
material, it takes only a few weeks to biodegrade. The
company Notpla also manufactures small, clear, edible
bubbles that can store water or other liquids. This material
is called Ooho. The company has also created a Notpla liner
for cardboard food containers that are normally coated
with plastic. This new material might just be a solution to
the plastic bottle problem.
Unlike plastic bottles, you can eat the material that holds this drink!
CHAPTER EIGHT

HOW CAN

YOU HELP?
Everyone can help solve the global plastic problem.
Here are some ideas to get you and your friends started on
removing plastic waste from the environment:

•  Start a plastic bottle collection group. Many states,

including New York, California, Maine, Hawaii, and
Vermont, have deposit laws so any plastic bottles
collected there can be redeemed for some money.
You’ll be helping clean up where you live and earning
some money in the process!

•  Plastic bottles can be used to create new things. Using

discarded items and repurposing them into something
useful is called upcycling. In 2016, Daniel Edwards
started a Kickstarter project to create a 3-D pen called
Renegade. This pen uses plastic bottles for its source
material instead of costly new materials. Some other
3-D pen companies are catching on. Nefilate and Refil
both use recycled plastic for their 3-D pens. With so
much plastic lying around, why not recycle it yourself
to make something new?

•  Upcycling plastics is a great way to get creative. Start

a project creating art, planters, magazine racks, or
baskets. They can all be made from discarded plastic.
 Remember to collect and use only discarded plastics
rather than buying anything new. The goal is to clean
up.

•  Start a home recycling station. Recycling items often

need to be sorted before they can be discarded. Use
some cardboard boxes that were headed to the trash
as containers for metal, plastic, and glass. Label the
boxes so everyone knows exactly what goes where.
This greenhouse was made from wood and discarded plastic bottles. What will
you make with the plastic you find?

Plastic pollution can come from many unlikely sources

but so can solutions. In 1997, a cargo container ship lost
many containers filed with LEGO toys near Cornwall,
England. LEGO pieces are still washing up in beaches
along the coasts of Cornwall today. In 2018, LEGO released
sustainable, plant-based plastic bricks. That same year, the
company recycled 93 percent of all company waste. It also
pledged to make all bricks from sustainable sources by
2030. The new bricks are easy to recycle but will not
biodegrade.
Traditional plastic recycling can be easily ruined if items
are dirty, contaminated, or mixed with other materials.
However, a company called Agilyx is using a new cutting-
edge form of chemical recycling. Unlike traditional
recycling, which reuses plastics, Agilyx uses chemicals to
break plastic down into its original molecular components.
Agilyx even accepts single-use items that are rarely
recycled, such as those made of Styrofoam.
Because plastics are durable and last for such a long
time, MacRebur, a company from Scotland, is taking
nonrecyclable plastics and repurposing them into durable
roads. MacRebur has used its new plastic pavement
mixture to build roads all around the world, including a
highway in England and a road in San Diego, California.
People are still coming up with unique ideas of how to
deal with the plastic problem. Everyone will need to
contribute with help, ideas, solutions, and hard work.
Solutions can come from anyone, even you. No idea is too
small, and every effort helps.
 GLOSSARY
accumulate (uh-KYOO-myuh-layt) To gather or build up.
biodegrade (BY-oh-dih-grayd) To naturally break down.
celluloid (SEL-yuh-loid) A plastic made mainly from plant-based materials.
contaminate (kuhn-TAA-muh-nayt) To pollute.
crowdsource (KROWD-sohrs) To gather services, ideas, or funds from a
large group of like-minded people, typically from the internet.
culprit (KUHL-pruht) Something to blame for something.
discard (DIS-kard) To throw away.
Earth Day (URTH DAY) April 22, a day set aside around the world to help
promote environmental awareness for planet Earth.
edible (EH-duh-buhl) Safe to eat.
enzyme (EHN-zym) A chemical substance that helps natural processes in
plants and animals.
fossil fuel (FAH-suhl FYOOL) A fuel—such as coal, oil, or natural gas—that is
formed in the earth from dead plants or animals.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GRAYT puh-SIH-fik GAHR-bij PACH) A
region of circular currents located in the northern Pacific Ocean that
captures ocean waste.
import (IM-pohrt) To bring in from another country.
Kevlar (KEHV-lahr) A brand of man-made fabric that is very strong and thick.
malleable (MA-lee-uh-buhl) Able to be stretched or bent into various shapes
with breaking.
parliament (PAHR-luh-muhnt) A lawmaking body.
plankton (PLANK-tuhn) A tiny plant or animal that floats in the ocean.
sustainable (suh-STAY-nuh-buhl) Able to last a long time.
technology (tek-NAH-luh-jee) A method that uses science to solve problems
and the tools used to solve those problems.
 INDEX
A
Agilyx, 30

B
Baekeland, Leo, 6, 7
Bye Bye Plastic Bags, 23

C
celluloid, 6
China, 22, 23
Clean Air Act of 1963, 12

E
Earth Day, 10, 11
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), 12

G
Great Pacific Garbage Patch, 14, 18, 19

H
Hyatt, John Wesley, 6

I
Indonesia, 23

K
Keep America Beautiful, 12
Kenyon, Karl, 12
Kevlar, 9
Kridler, Eugene, 12

L
LEGO, 30

M
MacRebur, 30
Mestral, George de, 8
microplastics, 4, 19
Moore, Charles, 14

N
Nixon, Richard, 12
Notpla, 26

O
Ocean Cleanup, 25

R
recycling, 12, 18, 22, 26, 28, 30

S
Slat, Boyan, 24, 25
Solid Waste Disposal Act, 12

W
Wijsen, Isabel and Melati, 23
World War II, 8, 9
 PRIMARY SOURCE LIST
Page 9
Women standing in line for nylon stockings at Miller’s Department Store.
Photograph. Ed Westcott. Oak Ridge, Tennessee. January 4, 1946.

Page 11
Earth Day poster. Designed by Yukihisa Isobe. 1970. Now kept at the Library of
Congress.

Page 13
Recycling poster. 1970. Now kept at the Library of Congress.
 WEBSITES
Due to the changing nature of Internet links, Rosen Publishing has developed an
online list of websites related to the subject of this book. This site is updated
regularly. Please use this link to access the list:
www.powerkidslinks.com/SOGI/earthsplastic