The best way to appreciate the ubiquity of plastic materials in our daily lives is to note how many times a day our hands touch, our eyes see, our bodies rest on, and our feet tread on a plastic: you might be astonished at the frequency of such encounters! As I am typing this: the keys of my Dell laptop and a wireless mouse under my right palm are made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, I sit on a swivel chair upholstered in a polyester fabric, and its nylon wheels rest on a polycarbonate carpet protection mat that covers a polyester carpet . . .
