While the plastics industry searches for solutions to the problem of plastics waste, there is, surprisingly, a growing band of people trying to save plastics. The classic nightmare that we will all end up beneath a tide of plastics bottles and packaging is evaporating as plastics reveal that they are not the everlasting materials that we thought they were. Although the manufacturers of early ‘plastics’ such as horn buttons, Bois Durci paperweights or celluloid collars would be astonished to see how well many of their goods have survived, many other plastics have begun to show disturbing signs of instability. Every collection of plastics worldwide, from the Science Museum and Tate Gallery to the Comb & Plastics Museum in Oyonnax, has already lost or is losing unique and beautiful pieces through degradation.

AZoM - Metals, Ceramics, Polymer and Composites : Degradation of a celluloid Polymer

Figure 1. Degradation is clearly apparent from this 1930’s shoehorn made of celluloid.
Plastics, Not as Long-Lasting as Once Thought

The crucial fact is that plastics are organic and have been described as a time bomb ticking away since cellulose nitrate based plastics were invented around 130 years ago. It can of course be argued that manufacturers’ foremost intentions have never been to make beautiful objects for museums. However, museums have a duty to preserve their acquisitions. Two conferences on this subject have already been held in Britain during the first quarter of 1995. The tone of the second conference, organised by The National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh in April, was fatalistic but determined.
Recognition of Polymer Degradation

It was not until the late 1980s that attention was paid to the fact that plastics artefacts had been physically changing, showing signs of acid vapour, tackiness, warping, embrittlement and crazing. Cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate were particularly affected. By 1991 John Morgan of the Plastics Historical Society had collected enough data to write Conservation of Plastics -An Introduction, a joint PHS /Conservation Unit publication, and the Conservation Unit launched a survey to identify objects at risk with the aim of setting up a research programme. The survey included everything from radios and cables to textiles and sculptures.
Deterioration of Acrylic Paintings and Pieces of Art

By 1992 acrylic based paintings worth millions of pounds by leading artists of the 1960s including David Hockney and Jackson Pollock had begun to suffer discolouration, cracking and greyness due to the absorption of dust and atmospheric pollutants. These paints seemed particularly vulnerable. At room temperature they are relatively soft and attract dirt which becomes embedded. However, to date no method has been found of cleaning them.
Impact on the Photographic Film Industry

The photographic film industry was also badly hit when irreplaceable archive nitrate stock started to decompose. Today, the National Film Archive transfers cellulose nitrate and cellulose triacetate onto more stable polyester at the rate of a million metres a year.
Preserving Plastics Pieces in Museums

The PHS/CU survey unearthed some interesting facts. For example, 40% of museums surveyed contain plastics objects manufactured and collected since 1980, and modem plastics are also showing symptoms of decay. Polyurethane foam appears to be one of the worst victims, and many early video and audio tapes on magnetic media are already unplayable. The curator who has to supervise a collection of high-tech, mixed material products such as space suits is confronted with a conservation dilemma: which material deserves priority treatment when each separate plastic has different requirements?