COVICTORY GARDEN UPDATE & Post-War Plastic

The Graduate (1967)

The Covictory Garden has been given a new name, behold the Operation Manna Garden. In tribute to the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands and the Manna Drops of Operation Manna and Operation Chowhound, as well as a credit to Operation Market Garden of 1944. The garden is doing well, the onions, potatoes, beets, carrots, peas and cilantro are thriving. We still have yet to complete the fence to protect it from rabbits and other animals that would gladly devour our plants. 

As you may notice there are egg shells scattered about. These are drying out in the sun in preparation to render them easier to crumple into smaller pieces to mix into the soil. They will increase the presence of calcium. Calcium plays a very important role in plant growth and nutrition, as well as in cell wall deposition. As a soil amendment, calcium helps to maintain chemical balance in the soil, reduces soil salinity, and improves water penetration. The mulch was simply for aesthetics, although I later learned that maple mulch can rob the soil of nitrogen. Oops. So, in order to increase the nitrogen level in the soil, we have continued to save our used coffee grounds to mix into the soil to add nitrogen to the soil. Gardening is a lot of science we've learned, and it's been an awesome experience!

Mr. Tidridge has requested that my blog post for this week discuss the subject of plastics. 

Plastic is a type of synthetic or man-made polymer; similar in many ways to natural resins found in trees and other plants. Not all plastics are the same and have different properties depending on their intended use. One of the first plastics developed in the 20th century was developed by an American-Belgian chemist named Leo Bakelite. "Bakelite" as it was called, was used to replace shellac and covering electrical wiring. 

Watch this video of the production and uses of Bakelite. Who doesn't love early 20th century narrator speech?

One of the initial uses of plastics was to create items and commodities at a lesser expense than the regularly used raw materials. This was especially the case during World War II, as many raw materials were difficult to source, or already had important roles in the manufacture of other items, such as rubber for tires.

Check out these objects from the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Collection and Archives made throughout the 1930's-1950's, see if you can identify the areas of each item that are made of Bakelite.

P-51 Aircraft ID Model c.1940

Northern Electric "Bathtub" Morse code key c.1940's

Leather Flying Helmet with Headset and wiring c.1942

Kodak Baby Brownie Camera c.1939-1954

In 1941, car manufacturer and inventor Henry Ford manufactured a prototype plastic car, made from soybean and corn oil. But with the entry of the United States to the war, manufacturing in all areas moved into mobilizing for war. The production of plastic from crude oil made many components of war materiel, from gear wheels in aircraft and tanks, to parachutes, and nylon rope.

Plastics boomed during World War II, and continued to after the war. Today they make up nearly everything we own.

In 1950 the world produced 1.5 million tons of plastic.

In 1960, 25 million tons.

In 1970 over 50 million tons.

Making things out of plastic made many commodities more affordable to the post-war consumer society. Televisions were made cheaper and more families owned one. In 1965 the plastic shopping bag was invented and filled many retail stores and shopping malls. In many parts of Africa, plastic bags have been dubbed "the national flower" due to their presence everywhere, flapping from trees, fences, and structures across the continent. Plastic made the new post-war consumer world, from Tupperware parties to recreational activities like an all-plastic boat.

One of the most iconic plastic items which has been a focus of many environmental concerns today made its debut in 1975, when soft drink giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi switched from their signature glass bottles to "PET" bottles. And it was in the next decade that the world began to realize the environmental problems resulting from plastic. 

In the 1980s plastic was everywhere. While it is inexpensive to produce, it's environmental impact comes at a high price. As a consequence of being a man-made product, it's nearly indestructible. The polypropylene bonds which hold plastic together do not exist in nature, which means there is no natural decomposition factor. It is estimated that it will take 450 years for nature to break down a plastic bottle, which remains only an estimate. It was because of the environmental impact of plastics that in 1988, the arrows that you see on your blue bins became mainstream as recycling arrived on the scene. 

By the 1990s nearly everything is made of plastic, or has plastic components, accessories, covers, packaging etc. And it's polluting our oceans on a shocking scale and at an alarming rate.

Map of Garbage Patches throughout the Oceans

It is estimated that 8-12 million tons of plastic is dumped in the ocean each year. A lot of plastic finds it's way to the oceans through water ways, blowing from landfills, garbage bins, and by littering. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch contains an estimated 80-100 tons of plastic alone. It is speculated that by the year 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. This poses serious health risks to not only marine animals, which over 100,000 are killed by plastic each year, and up to a million sea birds, but to ourselves as well. 

The issue of plastic pollution not only affects the environment, but our personal health as well. A study conducted in 2018 showed that microplastics were discovered in human excrement, indicating that by some way plastic is getting into our bodies. It could be that as a result of this discovery, that each person might ingest a credit card's worth of plastic per week.

For Further Reading on Microplastics in our bodies.

Although there are a lot of concerns for the environment and our personal health, plastics are vital in many areas that protect us and keep us healthy. Plastics are used extensively in of the medical field, and personal safety. Plastic syringes keep many diabetics alive each year, and many medical implements are made of plastics. Kevlar body armour which is made of different types of plastics protect and save the lives of first responders. There have also been studies and experiments with creating new, safer, and cleaner plastics. Check out how researchers have created biodegradable plastic from Algae.

I'm sure you are as tired of the word plastic as I am now by the end of this post. But here's the word a few more times. It is important that we ensure the plastics we use can be and are recycled, and that in any way possible we should limit our consumption of single use plastics and protect our natural world.

Sources for this post:

Johnston, Karis. Legacies of War: How the Commercialization of Plastics in the United States Contribute to Cycles of Violence, SIT Graduate Institute: Spring 2018

History 101. Plastics. ITN Productions. (Episode aired 22 May 2020)

Further Reading:

ASU Researcher uses algae to make biodegradable plastic

The many uses of plastic materials in medicine

You eat a thousand bits of plastic every year

What Protects Us (Hint: Plastics)