Any one benefit of having man-made materials?

Question

Any benefits to our environment of having man-made materials such as plastics???

Answer 1

High Specific Strength
Specific strength is a term that relates strength to weight. Man-made materials have a higher specific strength than many other materials. To understand this, consider the following example:

Compare a ¼ inch diameter steel rod to a ¼ inch diameter fiberglass composite rod.

The steel rod will have higher tensile and compressive strength, but will weigh more.
If the fiberglass rod were increased in diameter to the same weight as the steel rod, it would be stronger.

Ability to Form Shapes
Man-made materials can be formed into complex and accurate shapes easier than other materials. This gives designers the freedom to create any shape or configuration. Boats are a good example of the success of composites. Boats can be made out of a variety of materials – wood, aluminum, steel, and even cement! Why are most pleasure boats today built from fiberglass composites? The reason is that composites can be easily molded into complex shapes which improve boat design.

Inherent Durability

There are numerous examples of boats, buildings, and other structures made of man-made materials built in the 1950s, which are still in service. The bodies of the original 1953 Corvette are fiberglass, and with the exception of cosmetic repairs, are still structurally sound.

There are case histories of fiberglass ductwork being in service in chemical manufacturing plants for over twenty-five years - operating in harsh chemical environments twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Answer 2

How about the reduction in wood usabe by replacing wood with plastics in many applications?