Materials - Plastics
Plastics come in many guises and sometimes these have to go for further analysis, which can take time. If you have material specific data sheets, especially on technical polymers, this helps us to understand the exact makeup of the plastic in question, therefore making it easier to identify the correct end use.
Low Density Polyethylene is predominantly a film grade and this starts with 98/2, 95/5, 90/10 80/20 and jazz. These are 'export grades' and our sales staff will advise which of these grades of LDPE your film is closest to and then price it accordingly.
Domestic Grades of LDPE must be very clean with no tape or label and free from any contamination. These attract higher prices - however, the material must be immaculate!
LDPE Rigids are generally bottles and caps, as they remain flexible in use.
Other forms of LDPE
PP is also known as polypropylene. This is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications including packaging (bottles, tubs, buckets etc) and labeling films (printed food packaging), textiles like rope, carpets and even thermal underwear. Other common uses include stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types and is widely used in automotive parts
Polypropylene is both a film and a rigid and is frequently seen as plastic buckets and crates and hinged lids. Polypropylene remains relatively flexible even in its rigid state.
This was PP used for protective packaging of products.
PP is used to manufacture carpet and carpet backing, the image is of baled PP carpet backing.
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is a polyethylene thermoplastic polymer. It's most common uses are bottles and drums, pipes and its most recent use is in garden furniture, storage boxes and water butts. It is also used for carrier bags.
Most polymers start their life as natural opaque beads and will make natural products, like the drums. The beads are often re-processed and coloured additives are added to make coloured beads that are then thermoformed to make the finished product, like a yellow carrier bag, or a green garden storage bench.
Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene is a premium engineering polymer known for its very hard wearing physical properties and is even used in human implants when joints get worn out
High Impact Polystyrene can be used from yoghurt pots to engineering parts.
Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) is a common packaging product, know for its high impact, light weight properties and also found in bean bags for seating. The only way this can be offered to market is in a briquette form and it is the only way we can accept it at present.
Polyamide - or Nylon as it is commonly called has probably the most varied uses (as I know) from ladies tights, to industrial wear pads on machines. It is both flexible and hard wearing and its fibre form, it has amazing break strength properties
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Polyethylene Terephthalate is commonly abbreviated to PET or PETE and is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin. It is of the polyester family, used widely in clothing and soft furnishing. Its other common use is for food and drinks containers, known as blister packs and bottles. PET is also used in films, again, used extensively in the food industry
PET Bottles
PET Film
Here we see PET used in fabric - polyester