How did we make plastic that isn’t biodegradable and is so bad for the planet, out of materials only found on Earth?

Question

I just wondered how we made these sorts of things when everything on Earth works together and naturally decomposes.

In: 6571

Answer 1

“Biodegradable” mean it is degradable by biological mean. In most situation, it just mean that micro organism can eat it and poop it.

Not many organism can eat plastic. So in most cases, we instead have to wait for natural wear (rain, wind, dust, etc…) to damage it enough that it’ll turn into small particles.

Answer 2

Everything on Earth doesn’t do that. When was the last time you saw a rock decompose? Or a glass of water? It’s only living things that decompose.

Decomposition is not some inevitable force of nature. It’s a bunch of bacteria eating organic matter. There are many things those bacteria can’t eat, and those things don’t decompose.