Actually, make that iron or plastic. Late last year, The New York Times ran a lengthy piece on a $300-billion battle over the material of choice contractors will using to replace ageing water and sewage pipes across the U.S. While cast-iron has been used for millennia, one analyst estimated that 80 percent of new municipal infrastructure investment could be spent on plastic plumbing. Part of that move relates to plastic plumbing lobbyists capitalizing on the Flint, Michigan water contamination crisis by touting their products’ distinct lack of lead poisoning capabilities.
As Mr. McGuire said in The Graduate , “One word: Plastics. There’s a great future in plastics.”