A brief history of plastic

譯者: Jennifer Ho 審譯者: Regina Chu

Today, plastics are everywhere.

當今，塑膠無所不在。

All of this plastic originated from one small object—

所有的塑膠都起源於一個小物品——

that isn’t even made of plastic.

還不是塑膠製成的。

For centuries, billiard balls were made of ivory from elephant tusks.

幾世紀以來，撞球是由象牙製作而成。

But when excessive hunting caused elephant populations to decline

然而，19 世紀時， 過度獵象導致象隻的數量下降。

in the 19th century,

billiard balls makers began to look for alternatives, offering huge rewards.

撞球製造商開始尋找替代品，

重金徵才。

So in 1863 an American named John Wesley Hyatt took up the challenge.

1863 年，美國人 約翰·衛斯理·海特接下挑戰。

Over the next five years, he invented a new material called celluloid,

接下來的五年，

他發明了一種新的材質叫賽璐珞。

made from cellulose, a compound found in wood and straw.

由纖維素製造而成，

存在與木頭和稻草的化合物。

Hyatt soon discovered celluloid couldn’t solve the billiard ball problem––

海特迅速發現賽璐珞 無法解決撞球的問題——

the material wasn’t heavy enough and didn’t bounce quite right.

賽璐珞材質不夠重， 球彈跳的不大對勁。

But it could be tinted and patterned

但賽璐珞可以上色，加印圖樣

to mimic more expensive materials like coral,

模仿較為昂貴的材質， 如：珊瑚、

tortoiseshell, amber, and mother-of-pearl.

龜甲、琥珀及珍珠母。

He had created what became known as the first plastic.

他創造出為人所知的第一個塑膠。

The word ‘plastic’ can describe any material made of polymers,

「塑膠」這一詞可用來描述

聚合物所製成的任何材質，

which are just the large molecules consisting of the same repeating subunit.

即是由重複亞基所組成的大型分子。

This includes all human-made plastics,

這包含所有的人造塑膠，

as well as many of the materials found in living things.

及生物體中許多的物質。

But in general, when people refer to plastics,

但一般來說，當人們提到塑膠時，

they’re referring to synthetic materials.

人們所指的是人造材質。

The unifying feature of these is that they start out soft and malleable

這些材質有統一的特徵： 起初柔軟且可塑性高

and can be molded into a particular shape.

可以塑成特定的形狀。

Despite taking the prize as the first official plastic,

雖然賽璐珞得獎， 成為第一個正式的塑膠，

celluloid was highly flammable, which made production risky.

賽璐珞高度易燃，製造時很危險。

So inventors began to hunt for alternatives.

所以發明家開始尋找替代品。

In 1907 a chemist combined phenol—

1907 年，一名化學家結合苯酚——

a waste product of coal tar—

煤焦油的廢棄物——

and formaldehyde, creating a hardy new polymer called bakelite.

與甲醛，

創造出堅固的新種化合物 稱酚醛樹脂。

Bakelite was much less flammable than celluloid and the raw materials

比起賽璐珞，酚醛樹脂較不易燃，

製造酚醛樹脂的原材料更垂手可得。

used to make it were more readily available.

Bakelite was only the beginning.

酚醛樹脂只是個開始而已。

In the 1920s, researchers first commercially developed polystyrene,

1920 年代，研究員首次開發 商用的聚苯乙烯，

a spongy plastic used in insulation.

一種用來隔音、隔熱的海綿狀塑膠。

Soon after came polyvinyl chloride, or vinyl, which was flexible yet hardy.

不久之後，靈活卻堅固的 聚氯乙烯或稱乙烯基誕生了。

Acrylics created transparent,

壓克力創成了透明、

shatter-proof panels that mimicked glass.

抗震碎板，仿似玻璃。

And in the 1930s nylon took centre stage—

1930 年代，尼龍成了新矚目——

a polymer designed to mimic silk, but with many times its strength.

一種仿似絲綢卻更為堅固的聚合物。

Starting in 1933, polyethylene became one of the most versatile plastics,

1933 年開始，聚乙烯成為 最靈活百變的塑膠。

still used today to make everything from grocery bags, to shampoo bottles,

至今，什麼都是用聚乙烯製造， 不管是購物袋，或是洗髮精罐，

to bulletproof vests.

還是防彈背心。

New manufacturing technologies accompanied this explosion of materials.

新的製造技術伴隨著 這些新材料的興起。

The invention of a technique called injection-moulding

注射製模這一技術的發明，

made it possible to insert melted plastics into molds of any shape,

可輕而易舉地讓融化的塑膠 注入任何形狀的模具。

where they would rapidly harden.

注入後，塑膠會迅速成為固體。

This created possibilities for products in new varieties and shapes—

產品的種類和形狀出現了新的可能 。

and a way to inexpensively and rapidly produce plastics at scale.

這也成為廉價、快速、 大量生產塑膠的方法。

Scientists hoped this economical new material

科學家希望這經濟實惠的新材料

would make items that once had been unaffordable accessible to more people.

能讓原本高價的產品更親民， 供更多人使用。

Instead, plastics were pushed into service in World War Two.

然而，第二次世界大戰時， 塑膠被拉去從軍了。

During the war, plastic production in the United States quadrupled.

戰爭期間，美國塑膠產量多了四倍。

Soldiers wore new plastic helmet liners and water-resistant vinyl raincoats.

軍人頭戴有塑膠襯裏的頭盔， 身穿防水的乙烯基雨衣。

Pilots sat in cockpits made of plexiglass, a shatterproof plastic,

機師座艙是樹脂玻璃 （防震碎塑膠）製作而成的，

and relied on parachutes made of resilient nylon.

並倚賴以耐用尼龍所製成的降落傘。

Afterwards, plastic manufacturing companies

之後，戰爭時期興起的塑膠製造商

that had sprung up during wartime turned their attention to consumer products.

轉戰消費品。

Plastics began to replace other materials like wood, glass, and fabric

塑膠開始取代 木頭、玻璃、布料等材料

in furniture, clothing, shoes, televisions, and radios.

用來製造傢俱、衣服、 鞋子、電視和收音機。

Versatile plastics opened up possibilities for packaging—

萬變的塑膠為包裝業帶來新的可能；

mainly designed to keep food and other products fresh for longer.

主要為延長食物和 其他產品的保鮮時間。

Suddenly, there were plastic garbage bags, stretchy plastic wrap,

一夕之間，出現了塑膠垃圾袋、 有彈性的保鮮膜、

squeezable plastic bottles, takeaway cartons,

可擠壓的塑膠瓶、外帶盒、

and plastic containers for fruit, vegetables, and meat.

裝蔬果、肉類的塑膠盒。

Within just a few decades, this multifaceted material

短短幾十年，這個靈活的材質，

ushered in what became known as the “plastics century.”

迎來了所謂的「塑膠世代」。

While the plastics century brought convenience and cost-effectiveness,

塑膠世代為人們帶來 便利和成本效益，

it also created staggering environmental problems.

卻也製造出令人震撼的環境問題。

Many plastics are made of nonrenewable resources.

許多塑膠是用不可再生的 資源製成的。

And plastic packaging was designed to be single-use,

塑膠包裝被設計成一次性使用產品，

but some plastics take centuries to decompose,

然而，有些塑膠需要 幾世紀的時間才能分解，

creating a huge build up of waste.

累積成大量的廢棄。

This century we’ll have to concentrate our innovations on addressing those problems—

這個世紀，我們得把精力放在 創新的解決辦法——

by reducing plastic use, developing biodegradable plastics,

減少塑膠用量、 發展可生物分解的塑膠，

and finding new ways to recycle existing plastic.

並尋求新方法來回收現有的塑膠。