plastic (chemistry)

Any of the stable synthetic materials that are fluid at some stage in their manufacture, when they can be shaped, and that later set to rigid or semi-rigid solids. Plastics today are chiefly derived from petroleum. Most are polymers, made up of long chains of identical molecules.

Environmental influence
Since plastics have afforded an economical replacement for ivory in the manufacture of piano keys and billiard balls, the industrial chemist may well have been responsible for the survival of the elephant.

Most plastics cannot be broken down by micro-organisms, so cannot easily be disposed of. Incineration leads to the release of toxic fumes, unless carried out at very high temperatures.