Plastipedia - The Web's Largest Plastics Encyclopedia
Find everything you need to know about plastics.
- What information is covered?
- History
- Additives & Masterbatch
- Applications
- Chemical Recycling
- Energy
- Life Cycle Analysis
- Plastics Processing
- Pre-Processing Technologies
- Polymer Types (Thermosets)
- Polymer Types (Thermoplastics)
- Polymer Prices
- Polymer Bio-based / Degradables
- Recycling
- Sustainability
- Standards
- Testing Techniques
- BPF Literature & Guides
- Frequently Asked Questions about Plastic
What information on plastics is covered?
The different types of plastics
What does HDPE stand for? What is polypropylene? How do we use PVC? Most plastics you have heard of are called thermoplastics, which means they can be re-melted after they are hardened. Thermosets in contrast, remain in their permanent solid state.
Thermoplastics (most familiar types of plastics)
Thermosets
What is plastic used for?
Plastics applications are all around us, used in everything from our homes to our hospitals – plastic’s adaptability allows it to be extremely useful. Polymers have many different functional properties, from being light and strong, to being chemical resistant, flexible, transparent and taking an infinite amount of shapes and sizes.
Applications
How is plastic turned into products?
How does injection moulding work? What is rotational moulding? Learn about the different techniques used to process plastic from vacuum forming to extrusion blow moulding and many more.
Technical information on plastic
Find out a polymer’s physical properties such as resistance to chemicals and tensile strength, information on the grades available and the unique performance characteristics of the polymer types.
Plastics and Sustainability
How much plastic is collected and recycled? What must be done to address marine litter? Learn the bigger picture of how plastics fits into an environmental context, including some of the not so well known environmental benefits that plastic provides.
Stages Involved in Plastics Recycling
Polymers: Thermosets
An A - Z of polymers and a look at the two main types, thermosets and thermoplastics.
Applications
Some of the main applications for plastics including construction, automotive and aerospace.