Plastic and Products

Plastic is one of the most widely used day to day materials. We all are aware of the fact that how plastic has become an inseparable part of our lives. On daily basis we are using innumerable plastic products that are even hard to count upon.

What Is Plastic?

Plastics are polymers of high molecular mass that can form a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids. These solids are used to manufacture a wide array of industrial products. The raw materials needed to make most plastics come from petroleum and natural gas. The word plastic in Greek means some thing that can be shaped or molded. Monomers of plastic are either natural or synthetic organic compounds.

Plastic are of two types: thermoplastics and thermosetting.

Thermoplastics can be molded with the treatment of heat and on cooling they solidify Thermoplastics can be molded and shaped again and again. Some typical thermoplastics are:

• Acrylic (Perspex)
• Acrylo-nitrile (Nylon)
• Polyethylene (Polythene)
• Polypropylene
• Poly Vinyl Acetate (PVA)
• Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC)
• Polystyrene and ABS
• PTFE (Teflon)

Thermosets are cured or hardened by heat. Once molded and shaped, thermoset cant be melt down; after solidifying it remains in that shape only. Some typical thermosets are:

• Bakelite
• Epoxy
• Melamine
• Polyester
• Polyurethane

The wide Usage of Plastic

Plastic is all around us. It is like there is no end to the usage of plastics. In our home, office, car and in various other ways we are using plastics from smaller to larger extent. It is used to manufacture various types of packaging material for food, beverages and other, and then it is also used to manufacture different products like toy, toothbrush, computers, phones, dishes, utensils the list will go on. Plastic are so widely used because it is endowed with various unique high end features that are hard to found in any other material. Plastics are

• Lightweight,
• Rust Free
• Attractive
• Hard and slippery
• Soft and rubbery
• Tough and slippery
• Flexible
• Good insulators of heat or electricity
• Hygienic
• Can be molded into any shape
• Easy to shape and color
• Cheap

Code for Plastic Products

In 1988, U.S.-based Society of the Plastics Industry developed a system of coding, where the resin identification code are imprinted in the plastic product. Resin means the base material of the plastic. This resin identification code is a number that informs the consumers about the type of plastic used and the related risks in a particular plastic products Though not all the plastic products carry these codes, as the system has not get globally applied in actual terms, yet in most of the plastic products, this code is given off. There are seven plastic resin codes. Just by seeing the codes imprinted in the product, one can know which plastic has been used to manufacture that particular product. Given below are the symbols and their implied plastic:

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE)

High density polyethylene (HDPE)

Polyvinyl chloride (V or Vinyl or PVC)

Low density polyethylene (LDPE)

Polypropylene (PP)

Polystyrene (PS)

Other, This includes any thing that come under the above six categories. It includes the most dangerous plastic polycarbonate and also includes the biodegradable bio-based plastics. So, one should be alert while interpreting this code.

1, 3, 6 and 7 (polycarbonate) are considered to be dangerous. It doesn’t mean others are safe yet it is safest to stick to numbers 2, 4, 5 and 7 (other than polycarbonate) whenever possible.

Environmental Hazards of Plastic

Though plastics are so widely used, they are also one of the major environmental pollutants. The main problem with plastic is that, it can’t be destroyed. Moreover, since it is not bio degradable it causes harm to the environment. That’s why it is always recommended to use recyclable plastic products. Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastics and reprocessing the material into useful products. Typically a plastic is not recycled into the same type of plastic, and products made from recycled plastics are often not recyclable.