Dear Recycle Lady, How long has plastic been in our environment? When was plastic discovered? — Looking for Information
Dear Looking for Information, According to https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-plastics-1992322, the first man-made plastic was created by Alexander Parkes, who demonstrated it at the 1862 Great International Exhibition in London. He called the material Parkesine. It was an organic material derived from cellulose. Once it was heated, Parkesine could be molded and it would retain its shape when cooled. The first mass-produced, totally synthetic plastic was invented in 1907 by Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland, who also created Bakelite. Since Baekeland’s product was a totally synthetic plastic, meaning it contained no molecules, it is considered to be invented rather than discovered. There are some plastics today made from an organic polymer, however, most plastics are made from petrochemicals. Plastic pollution was first noticed in the ocean by scientists carrying out plankton studies in the late 1960s and early 1970s, according to freetheocean.com.
Dear Recycle Lady, What is Earth Hour and when is it? — Environmentalist
Dear Environmentalist, Earth Hour was organized in 2004 by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and has been held every year since. It encourages individuals, communities and businesses to turn off nonessential electric lights for one hour, from 8:30 p.m. — 9:30 p.m., on the last Saturday of March. Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia and has grown to include more than 7,000 cities and towns across 187 countries and territories. Its purpose is to raise awareness of energy consumption and the effect on the environment. This year Earth Hour will be held on Saturday, March 27, from 8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Let’s join in and turn off non-essential lights during Earth Hour and help save the Earth.
Dear Readers, Here’s some really good news. On February 13, 2021, the Empire State Building’s 102 stories were run entirely by wind energy, says https://earther.gizmodo.com/the-empire-state-building-runs-on-the-wind-now-1846189711.
Using wind energy has saved 450 million pounds of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to an entire year of emissions from New York’s taxi fleet. The retrofit will save $2.4 million in energy costs the first year. It is expected that, over time, the owners will save over $4 million yearly.
Have questions about recycling, or interesting information about recycling? Send questions or requests to recyclelady@greenbrier-swa.com. Dear Recycle Lady is sponsored jointly by the Greenbrier Recycling Center and Greenworks Recycling.
