How can we know that current knowledge is an improvement upon past knowledge?

Item 1: Plastic bag

Item 2: Biodegradable Plastic bag

In 1965, Swedish engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin created the first plastic bag. Following its
release to the market by the packaging business he worked for, Celloplast, Thulin formally
debuted the bag to the world. Since then plastic bags became one of the century's creations
with the greatest impact on humanity due to the 3E effect it has had, environmentally,
economically and in efficiency.

Like many other single-use plastic products, plastic bags are produced in big quantities at
low cost, but their useful lives are relatively brief. Consumers often discard their plastic bags
after using them for their intended use, such as carrying groceries home. According to the
World count, 5 trillion plastic bags are used annually, such that over 700 plastic bags are
used by people every second of every day.

The Plastic bags slow shift into a newer biodegradable alternative is a perfect example of an
improvement of current knowledge over past knowledge. The slow shift seen in recent years
between the two is due to our evolution of knowledge of the impact on the environment that
plastic has had and our search for a fast and efficient solution to the problem. The two
objects show humanity's greater understanding of the environment and the resources we
have. Our greater understanding of chemistry has allowed us to move on from our initial
crude creation of synthetic polymers (being that the first plastics were created by mistake)
and begin to create more complicated variations which fit our needs more comfortably. This
ability to customise our creations down to the molecule shows our advancements and
improvements on past knowledge of the world.