Eyewitness to History
Sometimes, if you actually pay attention when other people are talking, you may hear and learn unexpected things—things that broaden your awareness and deepen your understanding. I recently paid attention to a sagacious septuagenarian who was himself paying attention when the plastic hit the fan during the last century. His anecdotal insights may not be found in scientific papers or data banks, but they offer valuable clues in reconstructing the origins of our toxic addiction to plastic.
During the mid-20th Century, young Larry often accompanied his father, Dan, in his work as a demolition contractor. Larry eventually followed in his father’s footsteps and began salvaging reusable goods and materials. His earliest memories of plastic are of consumer products cast in colorful and transparent Bakelite, invented in 1907 by chemist Leo Baekeland. Bakelite was attractive and durable—ideal for women’s dresser sets, game pieces, and even steering wheels in luxury cars—and enjoys an enduring vogue as a retro collectible. Larry says the Bakelite products were “precursors to plastic as we know it today.”
He recalls that by the mid-1950s new types of plastic were being used in the production in an ever-increasing volume of consumer products. Unlike Bakelite, the new plastic had a “brittle” quality. “My father was disappointed and outraged that the Japanese were sending all this plastic crap to the U.S. Before that, everything was made of metal and wood. Tools, toys and household goods were all made of tin or iron, and suddenly plastic was coming out because it was cheap. But it would break and we’d burn it in the backyard.” Few gave any thought to the disposal of plastic—or its potential consequences: “It never entered our minds. Back then, plastic was burned in dumps or on barges in the ocean.” Larry believes that the practice of burning plastic refuse in the U.S. ended by the late 1950s.
Larry theorizes that the onset of our plastic dependency was a direct result of the Second World War. “From what I was told, plastic was more prevalent after World War II. It was used out of necessity because metal was needed for the war effort.”
It is Larry’s impression that international centers of the burgeoning plastic manufacturing industry “transitioned from Japan to Taiwan to Mexico and now China.” He says “price” was always the principal driver of the transitions. Plastic got better—and cheaper. “Now everything you touch is plastic. That’s all young people know. They grew up in a world of plastic.”
Today, Larry thinks landfills present exciting new opportunities: “I think the dumps should be mined. They’re full of metal, glass and compost. They’re a huge resource all over the world. If I was younger, I would get the city of San Jose [California, near his home] to pay me to mine the dumps. There are thousands of tons of metal and antique bricks. And maybe the plastic can be separated from the compost.”
During the mid-20th Century, young Larry often accompanied his father, Dan, in his work as a demolition contractor. Larry eventually followed in his father’s footsteps and began salvaging reusable goods and materials. His earliest memories of plastic are of consumer products cast in colorful and transparent Bakelite, invented in 1907 by chemist Leo Baekeland. Bakelite was attractive and durable—ideal for women’s dresser sets, game pieces, and even steering wheels in luxury cars—and enjoys an enduring vogue as a retro collectible. Larry says the Bakelite products were “precursors to plastic as we know it today.”
He recalls that by the mid-1950s new types of plastic were being used in the production in an ever-increasing volume of consumer products. Unlike Bakelite, the new plastic had a “brittle” quality. “My father was disappointed and outraged that the Japanese were sending all this plastic crap to the U.S. Before that, everything was made of metal and wood. Tools, toys and household goods were all made of tin or iron, and suddenly plastic was coming out because it was cheap. But it would break and we’d burn it in the backyard.” Few gave any thought to the disposal of plastic—or its potential consequences: “It never entered our minds. Back then, plastic was burned in dumps or on barges in the ocean.” Larry believes that the practice of burning plastic refuse in the U.S. ended by the late 1950s.
Larry theorizes that the onset of our plastic dependency was a direct result of the Second World War. “From what I was told, plastic was more prevalent after World War II. It was used out of necessity because metal was needed for the war effort.”
It is Larry’s impression that international centers of the burgeoning plastic manufacturing industry “transitioned from Japan to Taiwan to Mexico and now China.” He says “price” was always the principal driver of the transitions. Plastic got better—and cheaper. “Now everything you touch is plastic. That’s all young people know. They grew up in a world of plastic.”
Today, Larry thinks landfills present exciting new opportunities: “I think the dumps should be mined. They’re full of metal, glass and compost. They’re a huge resource all over the world. If I was younger, I would get the city of San Jose [California, near his home] to pay me to mine the dumps. There are thousands of tons of metal and antique bricks. And maybe the plastic can be separated from the compost.”
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