“Polypropylene made,” notes Giulio Natta in his diary on March 11, 1954. This laconic statement records a discovery that would earn him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry nine years later, shared with his German colleague Karl Ziegler.
The polymerization of propylene with a titanium-based catalyst, however, is just one of many contributions made by the scholar to the development of macromolecular chemistry. Throughout his prolific career, Natta published over 600 scientific papers, was the author of 316 industrial patents, and synthesized, along with his collaborators, 130 new polymers. However, the title of “inventor of plastic” that some have subsequently bestowed on him does not correspond to reality.
Polypropylene is only one of the plastics synthesized in the first half of the last century, along with Bakelite, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Cellophane, nylon, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), vinyl, Formica, and polyester. Lightweight, ductile, resistant to water and heat, and inexpensive, from the 1960s these materials have become the most used by industries to produce everything from piping to toys, revolutionizing the daily life of Western societies and marking the imagination of millions of people.
Their invention generated such enthusiasm that some dubbed them “the material God forgot to invent.” However, their undeniable advantages were eventually overshadowed by insurmountable limitations, first among them their inability to biodegrade and turn into food for other living beings. Rampant consumerism and the proliferation of “disposable” items worsened the situation, turning this waste into an incurable plague polluting soil, air, and water. Microplastics, in particular, have long entered the food chain, even accumulating in the human body, as some recent studies have shown.
According to data provided by the European Union, from 1.5 million tons of plastic waste produced worldwide in 1950, we have reached 359 million tons in 2018. Faced with this sea of trash, part of civil society has mobilized to change things, in some cases radically altering their lifestyle. Earth Day, celebrated last April 22, is just the latest event dedicated to this issue. The American NGO Earthday.org that organized it has called for a 60% reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040.
In Europe, incineration remains the most used method for disposing of this type of waste, followed by recycling and landfilling. To create a climate-respectful circular economy, over the last ten years the EU has adopted cutting-edge measures. Many of these promote recycling, ban the production of the most commonly used single-use plastics, introduce new packaging rules, and aim for climate neutrality by 2050.
Ambitious goals not shared by all. Once again, a present full of uncertainties seems unwilling to give way to a future that shortsighted policies are making increasingly nebulous.
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