History of Plastics
4 Minutes
History of plastic for kids: discover how plastics were invented to save elephants and became single-use waste. An English science lesson.
- Why trying to live one full day without plastic is so hard
- How John Wesley Hyatt made celluloid to replace elephant tusks
- How World War II and disposable plastic led to global waste
What this lesson teaches
Plastic is a synthetic material invented in the early nineteenth century to provide an alternative to natural animal products like elephant tusks. Although it was created to prevent animals from going extinct, widespread manufacturing has made plastic an environmental challenge that fills the world with waste.
Plastic in everyday life
Today, synthetic plastic has become an unavoidable part of human life, making it nearly impossible for a person to go even a single full day without touching it. After people began using plastic widely in the 1950s, the constant use and disposal of these products began turning the environment into a massive dump.
The invention of celluloid
In the 1800s, elephants were hunted and killed for their tusks to make combs, cupboards, piano keys, and billiard balls. Because people feared that elephants would go extinct, a billiards company offered a prize of ten lakh rupees for an artificial substitute. John Wesley Hyatt mixed cellulose, nitric acid, and camphor together to invent celluloid, the world's first synthetic plastic. Although celluloid was too soft to make billiard balls, the new material later became the roll needed for shooting cinema films.
Plastics in World War II
Over time, factories began producing plastics from substances like coal and petrol. During the Second World War, fighting nations such as America, England, and Italy relied on plastic to manufacture critical war supplies.
- Plastic was used to manufacture weapons such as guns.
- It was used to produce parachutes for military operations.
- Aircraft parts were constructed using plastic materials.
The spread of disposable plastic
After the Second World War ended, plastic was marketed heavily and sold very cheaply, replacing traditional materials in juice straws, tables, chairs, and cupboards. Factories in America then began manufacturing disposable plastic, which means an item is used only once and immediately thrown into the trash.
- Disposable plastic was used to store cool drinks and package food items.
- It became the primary material used to manufacture baby diapers.
- The rapid spread of single-use plastic across the world caused huge amounts of waste to accumulate in the environment.