Why do you suppose that someone invented plastic

Because they wanted something harder than paper/cardboard and softer than metal

Plastics could protect the natural world from the destructive forces of human need.

Explanation: Plastic allows us to keep water in a bottle like if your going to arizona and you are dying of thrist, then you'll have water in a bottle or as we call "A water bottle". Plastic bags were invented to save the planet, according to the son of Swedish engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin who created them in 1959. The bags were developed as an alternative to paper bags, which were considered bad for the environment because they resulted in forests being chopped down.