The Dawn of the Plastics Revolution, and How it Changed the World.

Every once in a while, when I am busy, my husband Bob will go off to our local grocery to buy a few things for an easy deli dinner. It’s not as healthy as my cooking, I know, but I rationalize that I don’t use the deli often, and it is a break for me!

Taking things out of the paper bags—paper because Bob forgot the reusable cloth bags in the car—I note that everything, the coleslaw, the chicken pot pie, the square for dessert, came in formed plastic containers. But at the bottom of the bag, there was a sturdy brown cardboard box, waxed in the inside to prevent leakage. It held a few french fries (a treat), and some chicken nuggets for me.

It made me think—when did we stop using paper containers to package our food? Ever since listening to a CBC documentary on plastics accumulation in the oceans, I am attentive to how many plastics we use. I was upset by that program, and the frightening situation it exposed, and I couldn’t help but ask some questions about when our use of plastics started, and how we lived our lives before it was in such common use.

If there was anything good about the past, this is it!

Now, I’m sure that none of you like to hear older people like me go on about the good old days, and how much better things were, but when it comes to producing less garbage, my generation comes head and shoulders above the current one.

I don’t know how younger people view life before the 1970s. I’m focusing on that era, because by then, we had a common culture thanks to phones and media—we all knew much more about each other than previously.

So my point here is that the 1950s must seem like the dark ages to a large part of our population. But to people over 65, it seems like yesterday—and 65 years, in the larger scheme of things, is not that very long! And during those short few years, our use of plastic, and the damage it has done to our planet has escalated exponentially.

If you grew up in the 50s, as I did, you can remember clearly that life without plastics was actually modern, convenient, and comfortable. Most importantly, even though it was before the advent of plastic, it was civilized. We did not, as young people today might speculate, live in a primitive society!

Whatever did we do without plastic?

During the 1950s, in the small Canadian prairie town where I lived, plastics were relatively unknown. Grocery stores had developed practical methods of handling and packaging. Customers stood in front of a counter and indicated a product, which was then bagged and handed over. Meat was displayed in trays in large glass cases, where the shopper could see the cuts and ask for them. It was then wrapped in waxed paper, and finally in packages of heavy brown paper.

Liquids came in glass bottles. Other commodities, like preserved fruit and vegetables, sugar, tea, and soap were packaged in cans, cardboard boxes or paper bags. Candy, and some specialty products were displayed in cellophane bags—a cellulose-based material made from wood. Once the shopping was done, customers took their groceries home in paper bags, cardboard boxes or reusable string and cloth bags.

How the use of plastics grew like Topsy

In the 1950s many families enjoyed greater prosperity, allowing them leisure time—and activities like picnicking, poolside meals, and having meals in front of the television became common. Enterprising corporations sprang to attention, filling the new void. Melamine, a hard material made from melamine and formaldehyde, came on the market and was an instant success, due to its lightness and unbreakable properties. Tupperware, sold through home parties, took the country by storm, with its colorful, unique and very useful containers for everything from cakes to juices. Easily transported plastic bottles for water and juices were suddenly in vogue.

Somewhere during this quickly developing plastic revolution, supermarkets came on the scene, and merchandisers began to display products in take-away plastic containers, covered with see-through plastic wrap. From there it was a short step to the use of plastic bags, manufactured so cheaply that every customer could walk away with a weeks’ groceries in two or three of these soft, throw-away containers.

Plastics, made of polyethylene, a synthetic material derived from petroleum byproducts, and virtually indestructible, adored by producers and consumers for its extreme versatility, lighter weight, and resistance to shattering, was well on its way to becoming part of everyday life in the Western hemisphere and across the world.

This brings us to today, when the next generation, I’m afraid, will be faced with the proliferation of discarded plastic items clogging the waterways, releasing their toxins, and cluttering the ocean floor.