Plastic

Plastic bottles in the back of a pickup truck, ready for recycling

Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptability, plus a wide range of other properties, such as being lightweight, durable, flexible, and inexpensive to produce, has led to its widespread use. Plastics typically are made through human industrial systems. Most modern plastics are derived from fossil fuel-based chemicals like natural gas or petroleum; however, recent industrial methods use variants made from renewable materials, such as corn or cotton derivatives.

Uses

In developed economies, about a third of plastic is used in packaging and roughly the same in buildings in applications such as piping, plumbing or vinyl siding. Other uses include automobiles, furniture, and toys. In the developing world, the applications of plastic may differ, including uses such as packaging. In the medical field, polymer implants and other medical devices are derived at least partially from plastic. Dozens of different types of plastics are currently produced, such as polyethylene, which is widely used in product packaging, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), used in construction and pipes because of its strength and durability.

Dependencies

• Plastic
  • Scrap thermoplastics
• Glass
  • Fiberglass

See also

• Ceramic
• Concrete
• Latex
• Nylon
• Paper
• Rubber
• Sugar
• Processed materials

References

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Plastic, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).