1.2 Development of Plastics
Plastics were firstly invented and developed in the 1900s (Thompson et al
2009). Due to their convenience and low price, plastic products were widely
developed and applied. In the 1950s, there was a mass production of 1.7 million
tonnes plastics. This acceleration in plastics production leads to the first
discovery of plastic debris pollution (Barnes et al 2009; Thompson et al 2009).
Global production of plastics was not, however, limited by the problem
associated with their subsequent disposal problems and polluting effects.
According to the Plastics Europe (2012b), the rate of global plastic production
has increased by approximately 9% per year since 1950 and the production of
plastics in 2011 reached 280 million tonnes. It is estimated there will be an
average of 4% growth in plastic consumption per year between 2010 and 2016
(Plastics Europe 2012c). With such an acceleration in the demand, global plastic
production is expected to increase continuously. The growth in production rate
will inevitably result in a higher disposal rate as people rely more on plastics,
and a subsequently greater pollution problem. Evidence in the US shows that the
total rate of disposal has accelerated recently due to the expansion in plastic
usage and plastics account for more than 13% of the total municipal solid waste
(US EPA 2012). The acceleration of plastic usage and its subsequent disposal is,
therefore, problematic.