Plastics are long-chain compounds or polymers derived from petroleum. Polymers are formed from individual molecules called as monomers.
Petroleum is considered as the basic material for production of plastics.
It is also used as a base material or solvent in paints, household and industrial chemicals and also in many other applications. But now crops like corn are soybeans have been found to have the potential to provide the starting materials for the production of plastics. In fact scientists already have produced plastics, using crop derivatives and are in the process of developing new plastics with unique properties. Recently, scientists have cloned a gene from the common laboratory plant, Arabadopsis, which is capable of producing plastics from plants, without causing any damage to the plants health. Scientists prefer to make plastics from plants because plants offer an amazing array of compounds, which can be used as monomers in plastics.