Plastics: navigating the maze of dizzying acronyms

AFP

PARIS—Plastics are all around us—from food packaging and drinking bottles to the insulation in our homes.

They are mostly all derived from fossil fuels like oil and natural gas, but what are the key differences between each type of plastic?

Here is a brief guide to the most commonly used plastics and their acronyms, as classified by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Three main families

Thermoplastics are the most common plastics, because they are so malleable when heated, and can be remelted.

Elastomers, meanwhile, can be stretched to a great extent and then regain their original form.

And thermosets are resins that become irreversibly hard when heated.

Within each family, an infinite number of polymers are mixed with a wide range of additives that are sometimes harmful to the environment or health.

In this photo taken on September 12, 2024, Leonora Buenviaje shows a dress made of recycled materials at her home in Cainta, Rizal province. For ten years, Leonora Buenviaje, 53, has been making dresses made from recycled materials as a part of her gown rental business. She incorporates bubble wraps, plastic bags and rice sacks in her designs that people wear during school activities, fashion shows and town festivities (fiesta). She said she wanted children to know that some materials that can be found at home can be repurposed into something beautiful, useful and eco-friendly. (Photo by JAM STA ROSA / AFP).

These additives can change the color of plastics, prevent ageing, make them flexible, increase impact resistance, or reduce flammability.

Polypropylene, or PP, is the most widespread plastic in the world (16 percent), developed in the mid-1950s and used for automobile parts and food packaging as well as disposable trays.

HDPE, LDPE

High and low density polyethylenes each represent 12 percent of global plastic use, according to the OECD.

HDPE, invented in 1933 by British engineers, is used for toys, shampoo bottles, pipes, engine oil cans and a variety of household objects.

LDPE, developed later in the 1950s, is widely used to manufacture flexible products such as reusable bags and food packaging film.

PVC

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is mainly used in construction for window frames, floor covering, pipes or cable insulation. It represents 11 percent of global plastic.

This photograph shows plastic containers of leftover meals at a migrants’ makeshift camp in Mardyck, northern France on September 16, 2024. At least 46 migrants have died in the English Channel since the beginning of 2024 while trying to reach Great Britain, a record that can be explained by increased risk-taking due to increased police checks, according to Thomas Lacroix, a geographer at the CNRS. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP).

Polystyrene (PS), invented in 1931 by IG Farben, represents five percent of the world’s plastic and is mainly used for food packaging.

In its unexpanded form, it is used for yoghurt packaging or in construction.

Expanded, it is used to package fish or for insulation in construction.

PET

Also representing 5 percent of plastic worldwide, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the most widely used plastic for drink bottles in their transparent form (water, sodas) and sometimes opaque versions for products such as long-life milk.

PUR

Polyurethane (PUR), developed in 1937 by Otto Bayer, is used in insulation and mattresses and represents 4 percent of the world’s plastic.

It is mainly used in refrigerator insulation, as padding foam in buildings, for adhesives, various coatings, shoe soles and in composite wood panels or surfboards.

Small sachets of water and other basic necessities are displayed in a roadside shop at Obalende in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, on July 29, 2022. Two 500-millilitre sachets sell for between 50 to 250 naira (3-15 US cents), compared to 250-300 naira for a 750-ml bottle. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP).

Other types

In all, these represent 22 percent of all plastic and include ABS (acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene) used for tires, PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), PC (polycarbonate), PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) and PMMA, another name for plexiglass.

Bio-based

This group is made from biomass such as corn, sugar cane, wheat or other residues, and not from petroleum products.

Their production generates fewer greenhouse gas emissions than fossil-based plastics but while their volume is increasing, it isn’t keeping pace with other types of plastic.

Fibers

Fibers made of different polymers are used in the textile industry and represent 13 percent of all plastics globally.

AFP

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