Plastic is an organic material, trees are mostly plastic (lignin, a phenolic polymer, cellulose a polysaccharide polymer, hemicellulose an heteropolysaccharide and suberin a polyester-like polymer).
The problem we’re having is a naturalistic fallacy crossed with the unpleasant fact that almost everything we touch sheds dust and powder absolutely everywhere. This along with spores and yeast and other dusts constantly enter our bodies.
Plastic is only of note because we made it.
Any problems beyond that is speculative and will requires ginormous gobs of grant money to actually answer with anything than precautionary principle-based FUD.
theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Nah corporations really don’t give a shit at all, like all chewing gum is literally just plastic too and sheds tons of microplastics into your mouth as you chew it.
vice.com/…/rethink-chewing-gum-habit-essentially-…
Plastic is an organic material though, so your assumption was correct.
moody@lemmings.world 4 weeks ago
The difference is in the definition or organic. When the average person thinks organic, they mean something that is or used to be alive. When a scientist think organic, they’re talking about carbon compounds.
Wrufieotnak@feddit.org 4 weeks ago
Plastic are made from fossil fuels which are from primordial plants. So still organic according to your definition. Just a few hundred million years since it was alive.
T156@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
Interesting. Always thought chewing gum was more like when you made “plastic” out of the caesin in milk.
Venus_Ziegenfalle@feddit.org 4 weeks ago
You can buy chewing gum made from natural materials but it’s not the norm. Most chewing gum is made from mineral oil.
fristislurper@feddit.nl 4 weeks ago
Also, chemically they are identical. Plastic made of a plant is still a plastic.