UK Plastics Heritage
The ‘Mac’
One of the notable forerunners of plastics was patented in June 1823 by Charles Macintosh from Glasgow. His process involved using a solution of India-rubber in naphtha soaked between two layers of cloth which formed a sandwich that was pressed together. The rubber interior provided a layer impermeable to water but also still flexible. With this invention the ‘Mac’ was born. It was a breakthrough in innovation and spurred the manufacture of rubber goods including rubber shoes and cushions.
Charles Macintosh
Gutta-Percha
As a further advance towards plastics, in 1850 the world’s first submarine telegraph cable made from gutta-percha was laid between Dover and Calais. Gutta-percha was an inelastic substance based on a special type of latex, extracted from trees from the Far East, that had been introduced to Britain eight years earlier by Dr William Montgomerie.
‘Parkesine’, the first commercial plastic
In 1862, arguably, the commercial plastics industry was born with the invention of ‘Parkesine’ by Alexander Parkes. This invention was the first man-made plastic. It was created from cellulose that, once heated, was able to be moulded but also retained its shape after cooling. It became commercially known after it was displayed at the Great International Exhibition in London.
The Great Exhibition of 1962
Polyethylene
1933 is arguably the most important year for plastics innovation. In March of that year British scientists Reginald Gibson and Eric Fawcett set up an experiment at ICI in which a mixture of ethylene and benzaldehyde was heated to 170 degrees centigrade.As a result, a new substance was discovered – polyethylene. A few months later, the British Plastics Federation was founded, showing that the newly born commercial plastics industry was taking shape and had come of age. September 1939 saw the first commercial LDPE (low density polyethylene) plant start up in the United Kingdom in Cheshire with a capacity of 100 tons per year. World War 2 was also underway which led to a rapid increase in production of synthetic materials to meet military needs and to overcome logistic problems.
A Pill Box made from the first pound of Polyethylene in 1936
From PET to PEEK and beyond
In 1941, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was discovered in the research laboratories of the Calico Printers’ Association by British chemists Jon Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson. Over the years numerous innovations and new material developments would come out of the UK including PEEK and Biopol, a pioneering bio based material. The constantly evolving plastics industry will continue to enable key technological advances throughout the 21st century. The UK will continue to maintain its position at the forefront of this rapidly changing and fast paced industry, paving the way for the inventors of the future which will continue to transform our industry and our world.
For more information on this topic visit our History of Plastics page
