The Most Common and Important Plastic Types
Key information to help you get started with material selection
Plastic Type with recycled plastic regrind
If you have an idea for a manufactured product and have done even a little research, you’ve probably figured out that plastic is not just plastic. What are the most common types? How were they developed? What’s the difference between them? And—possibly your most burning question—which one is right for your product? We’ve put together this list of the most important and common plastic types to help engineers, inventors and product developers choose the right plastic material type for the job.
The adoption and availability of plastics in our day to day life has been one of the greatest innovations in the modern era. Plastics have affected our lives and extended our life spans in many ways. Of course, with all of the benefits that plastics provide comes responsibility. In each of the sections below you will also find important information about recycling and reuse of each Plastic Type. In injection molding, the waste from the majority of the plastics listed below can be ground up and mixed in with virgin material with minimum loss of strength or durability.
More in-depth info about plastic material types:
Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Materials Database
Plastic Injection Molding: Material Selection and Product Design Fundamentals