
Plastic - Wikipedia
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic materials composed primarily of polymers. Their defining characteristic, plasticity, allows them to be molded, extruded, or pressed into a …
Plastic | Composition, History, Uses, Types, & Facts | Britannica
Sep 11, 2025 · plastic, polymeric material that has the capability of being molded or shaped, usually by the application of heat and pressure.
Microplastics are everywhere and can harm human health, say …
Oct 16, 2025 · Microplastics—tiny fragments formed when plastic products degrade—have been detected in human tissues at increasing rates in recent years and have been linked with a …
Microplastics and our health: What the science says
Jan 29, 2025 · Whether we know it, or like it, our bodies are polluted by tiny fragments of plastic that fail to break down in our earthly environment. What does that mean for our long-term …
About Plastic Products and Plastic Pollution | US EPA
Nov 21, 2024 · Plastic products are generally versatile, durable and lightweight. Plastic products are prominent in the construction, transportation, and packaging industries. Plastic innovations …
The world’s plastic pollution crisis, explained - National Geographic
Jun 7, 2019 · Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, thanks to the overwhelming rise in production of disposable plastic products. Plastic pollution is most …
Plastic - the never ending story | WWF
Plastic is a useful everyday item but has grown to become a global problem. Every year the world produces over 460 million tonnes of plastic, [1] 90% of which pollutes almost all areas of our …
PLASTIC Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of PLASTIC is a plastic substance; specifically : any of numerous organic synthetic or processed materials that are mostly thermoplastic or thermosetting polymers of high …
Plastic Pollution - Our World in Data
On this page, you can find all of our data, visualizations, and writing on plastic pollution. The first synthetic plastic – Bakelite – was produced in 1907, marking the beginning of the global …
History and Future of Plastics - Science History Institute
Plastic is a word that originally meant “pliable and easily shaped.” It only recently became a name for a category of materials called polymers. The word polymer means “of many parts,” and …