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.

Polyethylene terephthalate and high-density polyethylene are designated, like all other thermoplastics, with special resin identification codes. The codes for these two thermoplastics are a 1 and a 2, respectively. These two generally are the types of plastics that can be simply tossed into recycling bins and are accepted by most refuse and recycling companies in the United States. Some cities also accept thermoplastic with other resin codes.

Aside from the fact that recycling plastics help reduce landfill waste and supports the protection of marine and land animal habitats, you should know that there are other reasons which make it important. Much less energy is consumed in recycling thermoplastic products and thermoplastic packaging as opposed to the manufacture of plastic items starting from zero. Everyone should know this: that every water bottle you recycle is equals to the amount of energy for powering a 60-watt light bulb for hours - imagine the power of recycling a single bottle!




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