Plastics are a less expensive alternative to constructing multi-tunnel glass greenhouses, and the cultivation of tomatoes also requires plastic clips, wedges, and gutter arrangements. Where the plants are grown in the open, plastic sheets are used to cover the soil in order to reduce water evaporation and prevent weeds. The synthesis of plastic compounds relies on hydrocarbons (crude oil and natural gas), both for raw materials (feedstocks) and for the energy needed to produce them. Feedstocks include ethane and other natural gas liquids, and naphtha produced during the refining of crude oil.
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