In the long history of human civilization, few materials have both fundamentally changed our lifestyles and sparked profound ecological reflections like plastic. This synthetic material, born in a 19th-century laboratory, has transformed itself in just 150 years, from "celluloid," a substitute for ivory, to everyday consumer goods permeating every corner of life, ultimately becoming a serious challenge to the Earth's ecosystem. So who exactly invented plastic? Let's follow the timeline and uncover the key figures indispensable to the history of plastic development.
I. The Accidental Opening of the Era of Artificial Materials (19th Century - Early 20th Century)
1. Celluloid: The First Plastic Born from the Ivory Crisis
In the mid-19th century, the popularity of billiards led to a surge in demand for ivory, resulting in the slaughter of 2 million elephants annually for their tusks. In 1869, American printer John Hyatt, in his New York laboratory, accidentally created a hard, transparent material-celluloid-by heating a mixture of nitrocellulose and camphor. This material not only mimicked the texture of ivory but could also be molded and quickly used to manufacture billiard balls, dentures, and collar buttons. In 1872, the Hyatt brothers established the world's first plastics factory, and celluloid toys and combs entered countless homes, even becoming the carrier of early film stock-the Lumière brothers' movie projector in 1895 used celluloid film to play moving images.
2. Phenolic Resin: The First Fully Synthesized Plastic
At the beginning of the 20th century, Belgian chemist Leo Backlund successfully synthesized phenolic resin (Bakelite) in 1907 by heating phenol and formaldehyde under high pressure in his laboratory in New York State. This material, synthesized entirely from inorganic substances, was heat-resistant and had excellent insulation properties, quickly dominating the electrical appliance market-radio casings in 1910, telephone bodies in 1920, and automobile distributor covers in 1930 all relied on this "universal plastic." Backlund is therefore known as the "father of plastics," and his invention marked the shift from improving natural materials to creating entirely new materials.
II. The Golden Age Catalyzed by War (1930s-1970s)
1. Polyethylene: From Radar Insulation to the Shopping Bag Revolution
In 1933, an accident occurred in the laboratory of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in Britain: a leak in the high-pressure reactor caused ethylene gas to polymerize, creating a white, waxy substance-polyethylene (PE). During World War II, this waterproof insulation material became a core component of radar cables, helping Allied forces achieve precise communications during the Normandy landings. In the 1950s, polyethylene blow molding technology matured, and in 1965, a Swedish company launched the first polyethylene shopping bag. Because its cost was only 1/10 that of paper bags, it quickly replaced traditional packaging materials. By 1970, global annual production of plastic bags exceeded 500,000 tons, and "lightweight" became the primary label for plastic's global conquest.
2. Nylon: From the Stocking Revolution to a Military Miracle
In 1938, Wallace Carothers' team at DuPont synthesized Nylon 66 in their Wilmington laboratory. This synthetic fiber was three times stronger than natural silk. On May 15, 1940, Macy's in New York launched nylon stockings, triggering a "Nylon frenzy" with massive crowds and 4 million pairs sold that day. During World War II, nylon became a strategic material: in 1943, Allied parachutes consumed 80% of the total nylon production in the United States. A single nylon parachute could carry 120 kilograms, and its folded volume was only one-third that of a canvas parachute. This "technological fabric" completely transformed the textile industry and military equipment.
3. The Rise of Petrochemicals: The "Great Leap Forward" of Plastics
In the 1950s, global annual oil production exceeded 1 billion tons, providing ample raw materials for the plastics industry. The invention of the Ziegler-Natta catalyst (1953) enabled the industrial production of polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which became core materials for food packaging and automotive parts. In the 1960s, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes began to replace cast iron pipes, saving the United States alone 1.2 million tons of steel annually. Polyester (PET) beverage bottles were introduced in 1973; a 750ml PET bottle weighed only 1/10th the weight of a glass bottle, initiating a lightweight revolution in beverage packaging. By 1975, global annual plastic production reached 50 million tons, equivalent to each person consuming 12 kg of plastic annually.
III. Environmental Warnings and Technological Reflections (1980s to Present)
1. The Non-Degradable Crisis: From the Plastic Revolution to Earth Pollution
Behind the brilliance of plastic lies a fatal flaw: a natural degradation cycle of up to 500 years. In 1984, oceanographers first discovered microplastics in the Pacific Ocean; in 2004, the journal *Science* reported that 24,000 pieces of plastic debris floated in every square kilometer of ocean globally; a 2018 report by the World Wildlife Fund showed that humans ingest 5 grams of microplastics annually, equivalent to the weight of a credit card. The most alarming case occurred in 2019: on a Hawaiian beach, a pregnant leatherback turtle died from intestinal blockage by a plastic bag; the autopsy revealed 88 pieces of plastic fragments in its stomach.
2. The Global Plastic Ban Wave and Technological Breakthroughs Faced with the crisis, countries launched a "plastic ban storm": In 2008, China implemented a "plastic restriction order," resulting in a 60% decrease in supermarket plastic bag usage; in 2019, the EU passed the "Single-Use Plastics Directive," completely banning plastic straws and cutlery from 2021; in 2025, Kenya introduced the world's strictest plastic ban law, with violations of plastic bag usage punishable by up to four years imprisonment or a $40,000 fine.
Technological innovation is accelerating simultaneously:
Bio-based plastics: NatureWorks in the US produces polylactic acid (PLA) from corn starch, and by 2024, Apple's iPhone packaging was 100% made of PLA.
Chemical recycling: Circular Energy in the Netherlands pyrolyzes plastic waste into syngas with a conversion rate of 95%, equivalent to reducing oil consumption by 500,000 tons annually.
3. Circular Economy: From "Use and Dispose" to "Closed-Loop Recycling"
In 2025, the world's first closed-loop plastic recycling plant went into operation in Singapore. This plant uses an AI sorting system to identify 200 types of plastics, achieving a recycling rate of 92%. Even more exciting is microbial degradation technology. In 2024, Japanese scientists discovered a "PET-degrading enzyme" that can break down beverage bottles into monomers within 30 days. If this technology is widely applied, it will completely rewrite the history of plastic recycling.
IV. Future Outlook: The Road to Redemption for Plastics
Looking back from the 2025 juncture, the century-long history of plastics' development is like a mirror reflecting human civilization: the first 50 years were a celebration of conquering nature, the next 50 years a painful awakening of ecology. While we enjoy the convenience brought by plastics-the lightweight plastic shopping bags, the durability of plastic water pipes, the portability of plastic bottles-we must also face mountains of landfills and oceans filled with microplastics.
The true "evolution" of plastics lies in its transformation from a symbol of the Industrial Revolution to a cornerstone of sustainable development. As Caroline Bertolzy, the 2025 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, stated: "We should not curse plastics, but redesign them-making the material's life cycle compatible with the Earth's ecosystem."
