Polyethylene's journey began in the 1970s as a rare material, evolving into ubiquitous plastic shopping bags, dominating the market by 1982. Its environmental impact became evident with the discovery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 1997, prompting countries like Bangladesh and Kenya to implement bans on plastic bags. Despite global efforts to curb its usage, over one million plastic bags are consumed every minute as of 2018, highlighting the ongoing challenge of plastic pollution.

1. Polyethylene
A story from birth to ban

2. Introduction
A story of polyethylene -
1. Transformation from a rare novelty in 1970s to an omni present product -
Plastic Shopping bags.
2. Ranges from the darkest depths of the oceans to the summit of Mount Everest
to the polar ice caps.
3. Production at the rate of 1 trillion per year
This is about - How did this happen?

3. Let’s understand the chemistry
A family of polymers containing only carbon and hydrogen.

4. Low density Polyethylene
Branched Polyethylene

5. 1898 - Discovery
1. Accidental first appearance.
2. Rediscovered in 1933 - industrially practical polyethylene synthesis.
3. By Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson.
4. at Imperial Chemical Industries in Northwich, England.
5. Initially used secretly by the British military during World War II.

6. 1965 - First Plastic shopping Bag
1. The one-piece polyethylene
shopping bag is patented by the
Swedish company Celloplast.
2. Designed by engineer Sten Gustaf
Thulin.
3. Quickly begins to replace cloth and
paper in Europe.

7. 1979 - Spreading
1. Already controlling 80% of the bag
market in Europe.
2. Plastic bags went abroad and are
widely introduced to the United
States.
3. Marketed as superior and reusable
product than paper and cloths.

8. 1982 - Fully replaced Paper and cloth bags
Safeway and Kroger, two of the biggest supermarket chains in the United States,
switch to plastic bags.

9. 1997 - In world’s oceans
1. Sailor and researcher Charles
Moore discovers the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch.
2. Largest among several gyres in the
world’s oceans.
3. Threat for the marine life.
4. Plastic bags are notorious for killing
sea turtles, which mistakenly think
they are jellyfish and eat them.

10. 2002 - Bangladesh banned plastic bag
Bangladesh is the first country in the
world to implement a ban on thin plastic
bags, after it was found they played a
key role in clogging drainage systems
during disastrous flooding.
Other countries begin to follow suit.

11. 2017 - Kenya imposed fine
Kenya bans plastic bags, making it one
the most recent of the more than two
dozen countries that have sought to
reduce plastic bag use through fees or
bans.

12. 2018 - Consumption
Worldwide more than one million plastic bags are consumed every minute.

13. 2018 - Theme of World Environment Day
1. #BeatPlasticPollution is chosen as
the theme of World Environment Day,
hosted this year by India.
2. Maharashtra imposed the complete
ban on use of Plastic bags.
3. UN Declares war on ocean plastics.

14. 2019 - Onwards
Choice is ours where we want to live

15. Why Not Polyethylene?

16. The Solutions

17. References
1. #BeatPlasticPollution of World Environment Day 2018 - motivation.
2. Giphy and Google Images - for images and graphics.
3. United Nations Environment Programme - for information and data.
4. Greener Ideal - solutions to cure the use of plastic.
5. Encyclopaedia Britannica - Chemistry of Polyethylene
6. Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry | Elmhurst College

18. That’s the story of Polyethylene