Module #4 – Plastic Pollution Lesson #1 – Where does plastic come from?

There are many types of plastics, but Polyethylene is the plastic that most food packaging is made from and is the most widely used.  It was first created by a German chemist by accident in 1898, but not used commercially until the late 1950s. Today you see it everywhere. 99% of plastic is made from chemicals that come from FOSSIL FUEL. Plastics are a product of the oil and natural gas industry.

But what are fossil fuels?

Fossil Fuels are the remains of ancient plants and animal organisms from millions of years ago, even before the dinosaurs. 

The Earth was covered in many swamps and as the organisms died they were covered in sand, clay, and other materials, and with time and temperature and pressure-formed into what we know as COAL, OIL, and NATURAL GAS. These products are our main energy sources. We use fossil fuels to run our cars, our electricity, factories, and any other thing that you can think of that needs energy. But one of the problems with using fossil fuels is that there is only so much to go around. After humans have used it all, it will be gone and we will have to wait millions of more years for more to form.

So Plastic Is Made Out of Oil Products?

Yes, that’s right! Obviously, plastic is not good for humans or animals to digest. It kills millions of birds and sea life every day who think it is a tasty snack when they find it in the ocean. Plastic pollution is harming those creatures, and harming people too! An interesting thing to consider is that scientists have calculated that the world is about 5 BILLION years old.  Plastics have only really been in use for around 50 years, and in that very short time, we are destroying the Earth with plastic. 

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