Are Plastics Too Strong?
The same chemistry that makes plastic tough, light and flexible also makes it nearly impossible to get rid of, because it's hard to break those resilient chemical bonds. Thanks to the University...
==========
Hi, this is Emily from MinuteEarth. Plastic is incredibly strong, and can be molded into a mind-boggling array of stuff. But that strength also makes plastic stick around long after we actually need it, because unlike most materials, it simply doesn't ever fully break down. Each type of plastic is made of one chemical unit, such as ethylene, repeated thousands of times over in long, noodle-like strands, which is why plastics’ names all start with “poly,” the Greek word for “many.” Quadrillions of those strands get tangled together like cooked pasta to form everything from saran wrap to space shuttle sheathing. Over time, forces like heat and tension can separate the tangled strands of plastic from each other, causing big pieces of plastic...
==========
Hi, this is Emily from MinuteEarth. Plastic is incredibly strong, and can be molded into a mind-boggling array of stuff. But that strength also makes plastic stick around long after we actually need it, because unlike most materials, it simply doesn't ever fully break down. Each type of plastic is made of one chemical unit, such as ethylene, repeated thousands of times over in long, noodle-like strands, which is why plastics’ names all start with “poly,” the Greek word for “many.” Quadrillions of those strands get tangled together like cooked pasta to form everything from saran wrap to space shuttle sheathing. Over time, forces like heat and tension can separate the tangled strands of plastic from each other, causing big pieces of plastic...
