economy more than plastic. Plastics are at the centre of the petrochemical industry, and petrochemicals are the core of manufacturing based on fossil fuels. Not only are its feedstocks oil-based, but the petrochemical industry also uses substantial amounts of energyabout 10 percent of all fossil fuels use. Petrochemicals are estimated to be responsible for about 40 percent of the worlds pollution (Jackson, 1996, p. 30), and plastics are about 10 percent by weight of North Americas solid and municipal waste. While many areas of petrochemical industry have stagnated, plastics remain a growth areawith an increase of 6.4 percent a year from 1995 to 1999 (Wilson & Yost, 2001b). They continue to replace not just traditional materials but also newer metals (Geiser, 2001, p. 53). 85 billion pounds of plastics were produced in 2000, with 60,000 compounds in production. The iconic status of plastic is well-deserved. Plastics are the product of organic chemistryi.e. the chemistry of carbon compounds that has thoroughly transformed the material basis of human society. It has created a new generation of materials that are unprecedented contributions to the human experience. It is this uniqueness that is the source of plastics ambiguous social and environmental status. Whereas biological organisms use enzymes to assemble complex molecules (including natural polymers), the chemical industry uses catalysts to produce its synthetic polymers. Because the chemical bonds are different, natural organisms find it very difficult to break down these new compounds. Thus, plastics are among the most durable materials, but for similar reasons among the most destructive, persisting in landfills or releasing toxic substances in incineration. Besides the obvious disposal problems caused, these synthetic compounds create a whole host of debilitating effects in their production and use as well.