Plastic is a valuable resource. It's also problematic. Since chemist Leo Baekeland invented the first synthetic plastic in 1907, and through the rapid increase of plastic production during the 1950s, we have created billions of tons of plastic. We have polluted the world's oceans and upset the balance of natural ecosystems. With this fact-packed book, readers will gain a crucial understanding about the global significance of plastic pollution. They'll study how it evolved over time and what steps governments and activists have taken to resolve it.