People have been chewing on substances made from plants, grasses, and resins for a long time. The Ancient Greeks chewed mastic gum, made from the resin of the mastic tree. The Chinese used ginseng plant roots and the Mayans and Aztecs used chicle, a natural tree gum, as a base for making a gum-like substance. But modern-day chewing gum was mainly commercialized in the United States where the American Indians chewed resin made from the sap of spruce trees.
Read MoreMost band-aids are made of plastic. The adhesive sheet of a band-aid is usually made from either PVC, polyethylene, or polyurethane. It is a single-use plastic item, but unlike other single-use plastics, band-aids can’t be replaced by a reusable item. Polyurethane is, like all plastics, petroleum-based and is the same toxic compound found in chemical-laden mattresses.
Read MoreThe problem of plastic pollution has been gaining more attention lately and more and more people have come to realize that recycling will just not be enough to stop or even reduce the enormous amounts of plastics entering the environment. The problem of plastic pollution starts long before it reaches our oceans, rivers and beaches. Too many barrels of oil are turned into plastic, and plastic packaging is designed without fully considering what happens to it after it’s used.
Read MoreSince conventional plastics are made from fossil fuels, are not biodegradable and are turning our oceans into huge plastic garbage dumps (plus they are entering our food chain), more and more companies and institutions are developing alternatives that are more environmentally friendly and are cost-competitive at the same time.
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