How Plastic is Made

1. How Plastic is Made Scientists are working on ways to make plastic from natural substances in order to make it more biodegradable. Most plastic is made in a similar way.

2. How Plastic is Made Plastic is made from oil, natural gas or wood. Special things called hydrogen and carbon atoms are taken from them.

3. How Plastic is Made A refinery ‘cracks’ these large hydrocarbons into smaller ones called ‘monomers’

4. How Plastic is Made The oil or gas is sent to a chemical plant (like a factory) where the monomers are joined into long strings called polymers. (Think of a monomer as a train carriage and a polymer as a long train with lots of carriages.) The plant (factory) makes sacks of resin in the form of powder and pellets.

5. How Plastic is Made The powder or pellets are taken to a plastic factory where things are added to change the colour and type of plastic. The plastic is then moulded into its final shape.

6. Dragons Den • Your task is to design an advertising campaign for anew ‘plastic product’. You will need to produce a poster, an advertising pitch and think of questions they might be asked about your product. • You will need to explain: • How their product was made • What properties it has • What uses it has