The role of plastics in packaging applications: Material uses and properties, recycling, and disposability

The plastics industry is a very broad field that affects a great deal of industries and markets. There are too many applications where plastics are involved to mention in this paper, but one of the largest applications is its use as a packaging material. Plastics is the fastest growing packaging material ranking third in commonality. It accounts for fourteen and one half percent of all packaging materials. This paper will discuss some of the most common plastic materials used in packaging, the various processes used to manufacture some of today's most widely used packaging, and some serious problems with regards to disposal and recycling of these packages.