Plastic: Fun Facts & Information

By Lenna Stockwell


Just about every product has some amount of plastic on it or in it, but it is important to note that there are many different types of plastics and each has its own special uses. Plastics are substances that are created using polymers that are either synthetic or partly synthetic. Plastics are identified by a special resin code that explains which polymers were used to create the plastic. Here are a few more important bits of information about the plastics we use.

While plastic-type substances made from rubber and organic polymers were used centuries ago, the first man-made plastic was patented in 1856 by Alexander Parkes, who called his invention Parkesine and it was created using cellulose. The first plastic created using a synthetic polymer was called Bakelite, and early products created from Bakelite are highly collectible.

Vulcanization was an important step in the history of plastic, and while it has nothing to the planet of Vulcan or Mr. Spock, it has everything to do with tires. Tires are produced through the process of vulcanization which mixes rubber and sulfur in order to create a harder, more durable substance. Charles Goodyear was one of the key inventors of vulcanization, which is why the tire company was named in his honor. Bowling balls initially were made of wood, but vulcanized rubber was widely used for much of the 20th century to create these balls. Today, however, polyester is the most common substance used.

While different polymers are used to create various forms of plastic, there are two main categories of plastics in general. One of these is thermoplastic and the other type is called thermoset plastic. While both are plastic, thermoset plastics are often cheaper to produce and they are highly stable and resistant to heat, which makes them a good options for appliances, computers and vehicles. However, their extreme heat resistance means that they cannot be recycled unlike thermoplastic which can be recycled.

Millions of products are created using thermoplastics, which can be recycled over and over again. Food, beverages, medicines, toys and much more are made out this type of plastic, and even though it costs a bit more than thermoset plastic, it does have plenty of advantages. If you've ever dropped a plastic soda bottle on a hard surface, you've demonstrated one excellent property - thermoplastic is highly impact resistant. Many types of thermoplastic also are chemical resistant which means you can safely store potentially hazardous chemicals in thermoplastic bottles.

One of the biggest advantages of using thermoplastics is that they can be reused again and again. Some thermoplastics are even biodegradable, but those that aren't usually can be recycled. Not only does recycling plastic keep these items out of our landfills, the energy expended to recycle a plastic bottle is far less than the energy needed to produce a plastic bottle using raw materials.




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