The Fun Side Of Thermoplastics: Trivia You Will Love To Know

By Lenna Stockwell


One of the things rather common for us to use would have to be thermoplastic. You'll be surprised at how many things made of thermoplastics there are that we use - from water bottles, nylon stockings, our kid's baggie for packing his or her lunch and even the PVC pipes which can be found beneath our homes. For different types of thermoplastic packaging and fun facts, read on to learn about them.

For our starting trivia - do you know that the word "plastic" is an English word with its roots coming from the Greek language? It hails from the Greek word "plastkos" which means moldable which is exactly what these thermoplastics are - easy to mold upon the application of heat unto these polymers. Thermoforming companies create things from thermoplastic by using thin sheets of plastic which is exposed to heat and then molded into products of different shapes along with types of thermoplastic packaging too.

There are plastics which are actually biodegradable though probably not how you think of it to be. As the common perception of people about the term "biodegradable" is that it is compostable where when one is biodegradable it naturally breaks down into compost. The same is not true with plastic however. Although biodegradable plastics can be broken down, only a few types actually compost down into the organic substance which is called humus. One good thing though is that thermoplastics come amply recyclable which is why one should always note to place them in recycling bins.

Amongst plastic, the most common kind is a thermoplastic that is known as polyethylene. It is because of this particular type of plastic that your plastics bags and plastics bottles come into existence as millions of products are manufactured using it every year. Such polyethylene comes with various types with polymer names classified such as the PET or PETE which is the polyethylene terephthalate, the HDPE or high-density polyethylene and the LDPE or the low-density polyethylene. Although this kind of plastic is not compostable, people can help reduce its environmental impact by ensuring that they reach the recyclable bins.

Like all the other thermoplastics you know, both the polyethylene terephthalate and the high-density polyethylene are designated with special resin identification codes. You will find these two thermoplastics bearing the codes marked with 1 or 2 respectively. These are the types of plastics which are commonly identified as highly accepted by several reuse and recycling companies in America so you can always simply toss them in recycling bins. In some cities though, thermoplastic are accepted even with different resin codes.

Recycling is important for plastics and not only because it reduces landfill waste and helps protect the habitats of marine and land animals. It takes much less energy to recycle thermoplastic products and thermoplastic packaging than it does to create plastic items from "scratch." In fact, every water bottle that is recycled is said to save enough energy to power a 60-Watt light bulb for several hours, and that's just one single bottle.




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