How does plastics harm the environment?
Plastic is one of the few new chemical materials which pose environmental problem. Polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene is largely used in the manufacture of plastics. Synthetic polymers are easily molded into complex shapes, have high chemical resistance, and are more or less elastic. Some can be formed into fibers or thin transparent films. These properties have made them popular in many durable or disposable goods and for packaging materials. These materials have molecular weight ranging from several thousands to 1,50,000. Excessive molecular size seems to be mainly responsible for the resistance of these chemicals to biodegradation and their persistence in soil environment for a long time. Plastic in the environment is regarded to be more an aesthetic nuisance than a hazard, since the material is biologically quite inert. The plastic industry in the US alone is $ 50 billion per year and is obviously a tempting market for biotechnolo gical enterprises. Biotechnological proc
