All the modern talk about the so-called plastics crisis has a lot of people convinced that plastic is an unnatural product and one destined to be the ruin of humanity. It is a safe bet that many people would be surprised to learn the actual origins of this incredibly versatile manufacturing material. One could make the case that plastic’s origins relate to some of our earliest sustainability goals.
If you want the whole story, check out this post from the Scientific American magazine. It is more than a decade old, but its factual account of history remains true. Plastic’s invention was partially motivated by a desire to save elephants. Yes, you did read that correctly.
Elephants an Endangered Species
Back in the 1860s, it was believed that human hunting of elephants was endangering their long-term survival. In fact, the New York Times warned of impending extinction when it published a piece in defense of elephants in 1867. The Times was convinced that elephants would be extinct soon enough if humans didn’t stop hunting them for their ivory tusks.
Back in the day, people were making tons of items from ivory. Everything from piano keys to billiard balls and combs were up for grabs. And it wasn’t just in the U.S. Europeans were also concerned about how their thirst for ivory was endangering elephants. Meanwhile, supplies of turtle shells and cattle horns were also running low.
Four years prior to the New York Times piece, a billiard supplier in the Big Apple offered $10,000 in gold to anyone who could come up with an ivory substitute. This prompted upstate New York printer and self-proclaimed inventor John Wesley Hyatt to get to work. Hyatt finally had a breakthrough with his celluloid invention in 1869. Celluloid became an instant success as an ivory replacement. It also paved the way for modern plastic.
Plastic Is Not a Bad Thing
As someone who remembers milk in glass bottles and groceries carried in paper bags, I still struggle to understand why so many people think plastic is a bad thing. It’s not. Plastic is a man-made polymer, and one that is made from one of the most organic substances on Earth: petroleum. Petroleum is as natural as you can get. It is created by the Earth and comes right from it.
Anything human beings generate can turn into a bad thing if used improperly. But the opposite is also true. The things we make can be completely safe and extremely beneficial if we use them the right way. Plastic is no exception. There is nothing inherent to it that makes it bad, unhealthy, dangerous, etc.
In Tennessee and six other states, plastic is the life blood of a company known as Seraphim Plastics. The company buys and recycles a variety of scrap plastics produced by the industrial sector. By doing what they do, Seraphim keeps tons of plastic buckets, totes, palates, etc. out of landfills and incinerators.
We Have All Benefited
Seraphim’s business model and many years of success are proof that plastic can be produced, utilized, and recycled responsibly. The material doesn’t have to be a problem. In addition, we have all benefited tremendously from its invention. Who knew plastic came to be out of a desire to save elephants?
Plastic’s origins go back to some of the earliest sustainability goals. We invented it to save elephants. We made it better to save trees. It kind of makes you think twice before condemning it as one of mankind’s greatest evils. Or at least it should.