Introduction

1.1 Plastics

Plastics are versatile materials of synthetic long-chain polymers with low cost, lightweight, recalcitrant properties, which bring numerous social benefits and become an indispensable component of daily life, driving the annual demand for world production on a substantial scale(Andrady and Neal, 2009; Thompson et al., 2009). Table 1 shows the timeline of plastics over the years to the 21st century.
YEAREVENT
1284First recorded mention of The Horners Company of London, with horn and tortoiseshell as the predominant early natural plastic.
1820sVulcanised Rubber, Gutta Percha, Parkesine, Cellulose
1823Macintosh uses rubber gum to waterproof cotton and the ‘mac’ is born
1845Bewley designs extruder for gutta percha
1850First submarine telegraph cable in gutta percha laid between Dover and Calais
1862Display of Parkesine, predecessor of celluloid (cellulose nitrate), at the 1862 Great International Exhibition in London
1872Hyatt brothers patented first plastics injection moulding machine
1885George Eastman Kodak patents machine for producing continuous photographic film based on cellulose nitrate.
1880Fashion for long hair leads to cellulose nitrate replacing horn as the preferred material for combs
1890Thermoforming introduced and used to make babies rattles from cellulose nitrate
1892Viscose silk (rayon) developed by Cross and Bevan  (Chardonnet Silk)
1898Beginning of mass production of rpm gramophone records from shellac
1899Krische and Spittler in Germany awarded patent for Casein Plastic from milk. Artefacts introduced at the Plastics Universal Exhibition in 1900