The word plastic comes from the Greek plastikos, meaning “capable of being shaped.”

The first fully synthetic plastic, Bakelite, was invented in 1907.

A single plastic item (for example, a bottle) often takes hundreds of years to decompose, because conventional plastics are not biodegradable in the normal sense.

Global production of plastics now exceeds approximately 400 million tons per year.

Only a small fraction of plastic waste is recycled; much of it ends up in landfills or the environment. Moreover, plastic can only be recycled a limited number of times before it loses quality.

Some types of plastic can be made transparent or completely opaque, the material can be engineered for a wide range of appearances.

Plastics are derived largely from petroleum and other fossil-fuel feedstocks, which contributes to their persistence and makes large-scale production feasible.

Plastic packaging constitutes a major share of global plastic consumption.

The first “plastics” of the 19th century included materials like Parkesine (created by Alexander Parkes in 1856), which served as early synthetic substitutes for natural materials.

All polyurethane materials are made from plastic.

Microplastics (tiny fragments of plastic much smaller than conventional items) are widespread and persist in environments where normal decomposition does not occur.

Global plastic production has risen dramatically from about 2 million tons per year in the early 1950s to hundreds of millions today.

Much of the plastic ever produced still exists, either in use, buried in landfills, or dispersed throughout natural environments.

Only a very small percentage of plastics worldwide are bio-based or truly biodegradable in the sense of returning quickly to natural ecosystems.

Plastics are found in surprising places (even in remote natural environments) because they persist and can travel vast distances.

One early plastic film type, celluloid, was once used for billiard balls and various consumer items, but it was highly flammable.

Early Tupperware parties became a cultural phenomenon that transformed household social life through the popularization of plastic containers.

Many retro fashion items from the vinyl and plastic boom (such as vinyl pants and glossy PVC raincoats) reflect how plastic once symbolized futuristic modernity.

The “new car smell” is partly caused by volatile compounds off-gassing from plastic components within the vehicle’s interior.