Did you know that plastic was initially invented as a way to save the environment? 

We hear so much about plastic these days.

Single-use-plastic, microplastic, bioplastic, plastic bottles, plastic planet. It seems that plastic has taken over our oceans, our landfills, and our newsfeeds.

But what actually is it? Where did it come from? And why did we actually create it in the first place?

In this, the story of plastic, we take a journey all the way from plastic's initial creation to the plastic crisis we find ourselves in today. We then look forward, and offer potential solutions for a future without plastic. 

Read on to find out more. 

As you clean your teeth on sleepy autopilot, it’s unlikely that the sustainability of your toothbrush is uppermost in your mind. But it should be, according to entrepreneur Dylan Regan, the man behind the newly launched VirtueBrush “green” toothbrush.

“Most plastic toothbrush handles can’t be recycled. This is very troubling considering how many millions are discarded each month,” he says. “Plastic toothbrushes ultimately end up in landfill and clogging our seas and waterways, damaging delicate aquatic ecosystems.”

All very well, I hear you say, but what’s the alternative? According to Regan it’s Moso bamboo, and he has designed and is now selling a 100 per cent bamboo-handled toothbrush using the material.