Properties

Descriptions

Codes

Fiber, clothing, film and sheet, carpet, strapping, fleece wear, luggage and bottles.

Plastic soft drink, water, sports drink,  mouthwash, and salad dressing bottles.

Clarity, strength, toughness, barrier to gas and moisture, resistance to heat.

Polyethylene  Terephthalate (PET, PETE): PET is clear Commonly used in soft drink bottles and many injection molded consumer product containers. Cleaned, recycled PET flakes and pellets are in great demand for spinning fiber for carpet yarns, producing fiberfill and Polyester.

Liquid laundry detergent, shampoo, conditioner and motor oil bottles; pipe, buckets, crates, film and sheet, recycling bins, benches, plastic lumber, floor tiles, picnic tables.

Milk, juice, shampoo, dish and laundry detergent bottles; yogurt and margarine tubs; cereal box liners; grocery, trash and retail bags.

Stiffness, strength, toughness, resistance to chemicals and moisture, permeability to gas, ease of processing, and ease of forming.

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE): HDPE is used to make bottles for milk, juice, water and laundry products. Because HDPE has good chemical resistance, it is used for packaging many household and industrial chemicals such as detergents and bleach.

Packaging, loose-leaf binders, decking, paneling, gutters, mud flaps, film and sheet, floor tiles and mats, resilient flooring, cassette trays, electrical boxes, cables, traffic cones, garden hose, mobile home skirting.

Clear food and non-food packaging, medical tubing, wire and cable insulation, film and sheet, construction products such as pipes, fittings, siding, floor tiles, and window frames.

Versatility, clarity, eases of blending, strength, toughness, resistance to grease, oil and chemicals.

Vinyl (Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC): PVC has stable physical properties; good weather ability, flow characteristics and stable electrical properties. The diverse slate of vinyl products can be broadly divided into rigid and flexible materials. It is also widely used in the construction market for such applications as pipes and fittings, siding, carpet backing and windows. Flexible vinyl is used in wire and cable insulation, film and sheet, blood bags, medical tubing and many other applications.

Shipping envelopes, garbage can liners, floor tile, furniture, film and sheet, compost bins, paneling, trash cans.

Dry cleaning, bread and frozen food bags, squeezable bottles, e.g. honey, mustard.

Ease of processing, strength, toughness, flexibility, ease of sealing, barrier to moisture.

Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE): LDPE is used predominately in film applications due to its toughness, flexibility and relative transparency, making it popular for use in applications where heat sealing is necessary. LDPE is also used to manufacture some flexible lids and bottles and it is used in wire and cable applications

Automobile battery cases, signal lights, battery cables, brooms, brushes, bins, pallets, sheeting, trays.

Yogurt containers and margarine tubs, medicine bottles.

Strength, toughness, resistance to heat, chemicals, grease and oil, versatile, barrier to moisture.

Polypropylene (PP): PP is strong, and has a high melting point making it good for hot-fill liquids. it is found in flexible and rigid packaging to fibers and large molded parts for automotive and consumer products.

Thermometers, plates, thermal insulation, egg cartons, vents, desk trays, rulers, license plate frames, foam packing, foam plates, cup.

CD, food service applications, egg cartons, aspirin bottles, cups, plates, cutlery.

Versatility, insulation, clarity, easily formed.

Polystyrene (PS): PS is a versatile plastic that can be rigid or foamed. General purpose. It is hard and brittle. It has a relatively low melting point.

Bottles, plastic lumber applications.

Three and five gallon reusable water bottles, some citrus juice and catsup bottles.

Dependent on resin or combination of resins.

Other. Use of this code indicates that the package in question is made with a resin other than the six listed above, and used in a multi-layer combination.