India, April 26 -- Between 2021 and 2024, the number of chemicals reported to be used by the plastic industry has gone up from around 10,000 to 16,000

Plastic is indispensable for us today. Or so we are told. But what, after all, is it?

In simple terms, all plastics are based on polymers-large molecules formed by the joining of monomers. During polymerisation, mixtures of different monomers are often used to make different polymers.

For example the PET bottle used to package beverages like mineral water bottle, juices and softdrinks is a co-polymer made from Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and Monoethylene Glycol (MEG) - both of which are high volume products made in the petrochemical industry.

Additional chemicals used in polymerisa...