This is a Clilstore unit. You can link all words to dictionaries.

the 7 plastic types

What is PET?

So all plastics are the same. Plastic is plastic. Right? Wrong. That’s like saying cotton,spandex and rayon are the same.

News flash. There are many different kinds of plastics. Of the seven different categories of plastic, P-E-T is marked with a 1. PET is short for polyethylene terephthalate (honestly, who comes up with these words), and speaking of fabrics, PET is known more commonly as… polyester. Yep, that leisure suit tucked away in your closet? Made of plastic. Bet you didn’t know that.

Containers made of PET are most commonly used for soft drinks, water, juice, sports drinks,mouthwash, ketchup, and microwaveable food trays.

At Container and Packaging Supply we have an extensive line of PET that can be used for food, beverage, personal care and cosmetic products like soaps, lotions, and creams.

PET is ideal for products containing those sweet smelling essential oils. Ahhhh. PET has a high impact capability and shatter resistance. We’re going to drop this jar of peanut butter from 8 feet to demonstrate the durability of PET. See? Still good.

PET is everywhere. You’re probably wearing some right now. Recycled PET is used in carpets, fleece jackets, bags and comforters. Mmmm. Who’d have thought that plastic could be so snuggly?

What is HDPE?

So all plastics are the same. Plastic is plastic. Right? Wrong. That’s like saying skim milk and whipping cream are the same. Honestly.

Of the seven different plastic types, HDPE is marked with a 2. HDPE is short for high-density polyethylene. Guess what LDPE and MDPE stand for? Yep. Low and medium.

I am going to show you the difference between high, medium, and low density polyethylene with a basic squeeze-me test. See? HDPE, is not very squeezable. MDPE is medium squeezy. And LDPE is the squeeziest of all.

HDPE can be pigmented or unpigmented. That means it comes in different colors. Uncolored HDPE is translucent, or “naturale” as we call it in the biz, and is well suited for products with a short shelf life. Like milk. All natural milk in all-natural HDPE.

Not only does it look good … taste good, but does a body good too. Inside and out. HDPE has an excellent resistance to most solvents, which makes it the go-to plastic type for detergents, cleaners, industrial chemicals, antifreeze and bleach. It’s also used extensively for less harsh products like shampoo, conditioner, motor oil and soaps. Container and Packaging Supply has a huge line of HDPE products.

HDPE is used in a lot of different products. Your breakfast of champions comes in a cereal box with an HDPE liner. You push your groceries around in an HDPE shopping cart. A lot of the items on the shelves come in HDPE. You may bring your groceries home in an HDPE grocery bag. HDPE makes grocery shopping possible.

Recycled HDPE is used to make pipe, buckets (hint, hint), flowerpots, plastic lumber for your deck, and recycling bins. Cool, huh? You can put your recyclable containers you want to recycle in a recycled recycling bin. That, my friends, is the triangle of life.

What is PVC?

So all plastics are the same. Plastic is plastic. Right? Wrong.

Of the seven different plastic types, PVC is marked with a 3. PVC stands for polyvinyl chloride. Over the past couple of years, PVC has gotten a bad rap.

Mr. Scientist/Erin: "It's time to talk about PVC, so gather 'round and listen to me, polyvinyl chloride's on my brain, plastic facts are my game."

Yeah, that's not what I meant. So where did this bad rap come from? PVC comes in two forms: rigid and flexible. PVC is made flexible by additives called phthalates.

Professor Crosgrove: "Phthalates are a class of mysterious liquids. They lack color and scent, yet when they are added to typically dense PVC, they make the plastic soft and flexible. Some additives, namely orthophthalates, have been discontinued in North America and Europe due to the potential health risks."

Mr. Scientist: "I'm going to make polyvinyl chloride by mixing 43 parts carbon and 57 parts chlorine. (Cough) And that's how you make PVC."

At Container & Packaging Supply we have PVC products that can be used for personal care goods, chemical and industrial products, or food items like jerky, or spices and seasonings.

PVC is the third most commonly used plastic in the world. It's found in rain coats, shoes, credit cards, and laundry detergent containers.

Mr. Scientist: "My lawn wouldn't look this green, without my PVC pipe sprinkler system. Ahh, what would we do without PVC?"

Mr. Scientist/Erin/Professor Crosgrove: "PVC on my mind. PVC, all the time. PVC on my mind. PVC, all the time."

What is LDPE?

So all plastics are the same. Plastic is plastic. Right? Wrong. That’s like saying mustard and ketchup are the same. Please.

Of the seven different plastic types, LDPE is marked with a 4. LDPE is short for low-density polyethylene. Guess what HDPE and MDPE stand for? Yep. High and medium.

LDPE is squeezy, but also incredibly flexible and tough almost to the point of being unbreakable. LDPE holds it’s own shape, that’s why it’s ideal for products that need a good squeeze. Container & Packaging Supply has a large selection of LDPE containers. You can use LDPE containers for sauces, lotions, creams, spreads, honey, eye drops, contact lens solution, shampoos and conditioners. It can also be translucent (or natural as we call it in the biz), colored and opaque.

LDPE is used in a lot of different kinds of common household products. Bags for bread, dry cleaning, fresh produce, and trash cans are made of LDPE. It can also be used as a coating for paper milk cartons and some hot/cold beverage cups. Shipping envelopes and outdoor lumber are also made of LDPE. LDPE, MDPE and HDPE are all polyethylene which is the most widely used plastic. Low, medium and high-density polyethylene are commonly recycled in most communities.

What is PP?

So all plastics are the same. Plastic is plastic. Right? Wrong.

Of the seven different plastic types, polypropylene is marked with a 5. PP stands for polypropylene and is also sometimes called polypro for short. Polypropylene has the highest hot fill point of any of the first six plastic types. I'm going to compare polypropylene and PET's heat toleration levels by submerging Captain Polypro and PET Man in this beaker of boiling water for five minutes.

Look. Captain Polypro withstood the boiling test with flying colors. But check out what happened to the PET … it buckled in less than a minute.

Now don't get me wrong. PET Man is pretty cool. But his super powers are his barrier properties. And PET also does really well with cold: negative 40 degrees to Polypropylene's zero. Polypropylene can take the heat, PET can withstand the cold.

At Container & Packaging Supply we have all kinds of products made out of polypropylene. Polypropylene is often used for food packing because it will not melt in dishwashers or during industrial hot filling processes. It is also used for a wide variety of applications including: containers, lids, ropes, thermal

underwear, carpets, lab equipment, food packaging, speakers, auto parts, Rubik's cube stickers, even money.

Polypropylene is also highly resistant to fatigue. It's not as tough as HDPE, but it is less brittle. That’s why most caps and closures, particularly those with moving parts, are made of polypropylene. I opened and closed this lid exactly 4,668 times before the hinge broke. Now that's tough.

What is PS?

So all plastics are the same. Plastic is plastic. Right? Wrong.

Of the seven different plastic types, polystyrene is marked with a 6. PS stands for polystyrene.

Have you ever wondered how polystyrene is made?

Professor Crosgrove: "You've got lots and lots of its bitsy teeny tiny pieces of styrene that form together into a huge molecule of polystyrene! WOW!"

Thanks Professor. Polystyrene is also one of the clearest plastics on the market. Plus, it can withstand excruciating temperatures up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. And that food you didn't finish at the restaurant? That's right, it's packaged in a polystyrene to-go container.

Mr Scientist: "Polystyrene is a very rigid plastic and tends to be on the brittle side. We'll put polystyrene to the test against one of the most brittle substances known to man … peanut brittle (sniff) mmmm."

"To test the brittleness of polystyrene, I'm going to drop a cinder block on this tray of peanut brittle, on this polystyrene jar, and this LDPE bottle, which is known for its stellar performance in the Skveizme test."

Although not as brittle as peanut brittle, and not as flexible as LDPE, polystyrene still shattered during our cinder block drop test. Due to their delicate nature, polystyrene containers may be scratched and scuffed during shipment. To minimize this we encourage purchases to be made in full case quantities whenever possible.

At Container & Packaging Supply we have a large assortment of polystyrene products. Including single-wall jars, double-walled jars, and packer round bottles. They also can come in different colors. The most popular uses for these containers includes supplements, vitamins, samples and dry products.

You can find polystyrene in every day items such as drinking straws, egg cartons, foam plates and cups, cutlery, CD cases and more. In its expanded foam form, polystyrene is used as styrofoam to protect products during transport.

Pretend your Aunt Penelope, packed her premium peanut brittle in polystyrene products, protected by polystyrene packaging foam. Try and say that 5 times fast.

Professor Crosgrove: "Wow it's awesome!"

What is OTHER?

So all plastics are the same. Plastic is plastic. Right? Wrong.

Of the seven different plastic types, OTHER is marked with a 7.

Professor Crosgrove: "Humans have always felt the need to categorize things. For instance, there are a series of complicated classifications for the common housefly. Their Kingdom is animal. Phylum, arthropoda. Class, insect. Order, diptera. Family, muscidae. Genus, musca, and species, musca domestica.

A lot of work went into classifying and categorizing an insect that, for the most part, is annoying and worthless. So, you would think, that an equal amount of time would be spent on categorizing something as important and beneficial as plastic. NOT!"

Currently there are only seven resin codes in use, even though there are a lot more than seven plastics. I sure would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to see why they stopped at seven.

Morgan: "Hey. Watcha workin' on?"

Stephen: "I'm just workin' on assigning a code to all the different plastics that are being used."

Morgan: "Wow. That sounds like fun. How many have you done?"

Stephen: "Uhhmm. Six."

Morgan: "So … we're goin' bowling. You wanna come?"

Stephen: "Yes."

Mr. Scientist: "The resin identification code system was created in 1988. During that time, a staggering amount of plastic packaging came from the first six. The seventh code was created and given the name of OTHER. All plastic not PET, HDPE, PVC, LDPE, PP, PS gets marked with a seven. Things made of two or more different kinds of plastic also get marked with a seven."

Child: "Mr. Scientist, can you tell me more about the chemical composition of thermoplastic elastomers."

Mr. Scientist: "Well … you see, it's all … it's right here in the book."

Some current plastics that are included in the OTHER category are: phenolic, acrylic, polyactide, polycarbonate, fiberglass, thermoplastic elastomers, styrene maleic anhydride, styrene acrylonitrile, polyvinylidene fluoride, plus plenty more.

Once you have seen all the videos, make groups of four students, your teacher will give you seven cards to each, each card has a number, a name, an acronym, or an image of the different types of plastic. You have to organize them all in the seven types. When you finish share with other groups the results and compare them.

Then try to answer the plastic quizz.