Politicians in Switzerland have suggested to ban the polyethylene plastic bags used in supermarkets for environmental reasons. I am no expert, but I guess a thin plastic bag cannot be so bad as long as it’s properly disposed of. What really grabbed my attention was the statement of one politician, who said that the combustion of these bags releases dioxin.

Of course he was talking about polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), which was involved in the Seveso disaster and was a contaminant of Agent Orange that caused many of its severe health effects. Any chemist can see immediately that there is no way polyethylene will release PCDDs because it contains no chlorine. Such a statement immediately indicates how little research the politician has done.

I think this is indicative of a way of thinking predominant among a large part of the population here. Let me put it in a formula: Chemistry = Evil. It really annoys me when I see how little knowledge there is to support this general damnation of all things related to a scientific branch. In addition, because chemistry is bad, some people not only refuse to learn about it, but they are even proud of their lack of knowledge! I’m sure you have heard sentences like “You know, I never understood chemistry at school”, meaning “chemistry is for nerds and you don’t really need it in daily life”. Consider the same statement about art or literature, and you can see how little chemistry is appreciated. After all, modern life as we know it would be unthinkable without the advances of the chemical industry in the last century. But still, because polyethylene is made in a chemical plant, politicians will jump to the conclusion that it must be environmentally disastrous and should be banned.