The production of industrial chemicals and plastics has increased considerably in recent years (Fig. 3). The plastics industry alone directly employs million people, and supports 20,000 facilities that produce plastic goods for sale. With- out the billions of dollars on research and development in plastics we would be without many of the now commonly accepted objects that we tend to take for granted. Without a renewable source of building blocks for plastic goods, a time will come when petrochemical-derived plastic becomes too expensive for wide- spread consumptive use at the levels enjoyed today. .
