We have begun to overlook our throwaway society as though it is a natural philosophy. For example: “Coca-Cola produces an estimated 100 billion throwaway plastic bottles every year.” (Greenpeace, 2018) This astounding figure proves we are recklessly eliminating the same environment we share with marine life and therefore we must start to display more empathy. (Sky, 2017) We all now rely solely on plastic for many functions within daily life, yet this has not always been the case. So where did it all begin and what did we do before a life without plastics?

Plastics did not take up a role in conventional daily life until the late 1950s. When World War II ended, modern factories commenced the manufacture of consumer goods. The industry spent millions in the 1960’s to assure consumers that throwing products away was indeed agreeable because an ideology of reuse was rooted in everyday routine. (Freinkel, 2011) Advertising in the 1970s demonstrated the practicalities of plastic and it soon gained world-wide attention. Before 1976, where plastic became the world’s most extensively used material, people learned to simply value products until they became worn out. (Decker et al., 2014, pp 40- 41)

The both positive and negative impacts of plastic are immense. In the words of Freinkel: (2011, p.1)

“Plastic points the way towards a new creative partnership with the material we love to hate but can’t seem to live without.”
We have become so reliant on one material rather than researching and experimenting with new possibilities. Nevertheless, we cannot turn a blind eye to the positives plastics can deliver. It is extremely convenient, durable and accessible. Plastics are imperative to our medical equipment, they keep our transport safe and they protect our food by keeping it fresh. (Decker, et al., 2014, p45) Moreover, assured reasons to use plastics include that it is a lightweight material meaning it is easy to carry around and it will not corrode. It will not break like glass and it can endur