Plastics
in the Automotive Industry
Plastics
are used in seatbelts, airbags, durable plastic safety seats and shock
absorbers for bumpers. Plastics have gone a long way to suppress the explosion
risks in fuel tanks. The connection between design innovation and plastic is
illustrated by the aircraft industry. As of the 1970s, the use of plastic in airplanes
has grown from 4 to all but 30%, and was expected to reach 50% by 2013!
Plastics in Home
Construction
The U.S.
Department of Energy estimates that the use of plastic foam insulation in homes
and buildings each year will ultimately save close to 60 million barrels of oil
versus other kinds of insulation (Resource, n.d.) . Plastic therefore helps conserve
energy in the home. Same applies to electric appliances such as refrigerators
and air conditioners. Their energy efficiency has been improved by 30 to 50%
since the early 1970s thanks to plastic. This results to lower cooling and
electric bills.
Another
positive spinoff is that appliances run more quietly, unlike earlier designs
that used other materials than plastic. Plastic is very conducive in this
sector because of its insulating properties, cost efficiency, minimal
maintenance needs, their long life span, and their durability and resistance to
corrosion.
Plastics in Building
In 2010,
the European Building and Construction sector consumed 9.54 million tons of
plastic, about 21% of total plastic consumption in Europe). After packaging,
building came next as the second largest plastic application. Agreed, plastic
is not always visible in buildings but the building and construction industry
makes use of plastic in diverse ways; piping, interior design, insulation, and
window framing.
Plastics in
Lightweighting
Engineers
are always on the quest to achieve more using less material. Today, the 2-liter
plastic soft drink bottle weighs just 51 grams, a 17 gram decrease in weight
from the from the 68 gram bottle used before 1977. This is a striking 25%
decrease in bottle weight, saving over 206 million pounds of packaging
annually. Doing more with less saves energy and resources. Plastics play a substantial
role in energy conservation.
Plastics in Packaging
Packaging
experts estimate that per pound of plastic packaging used, food waste is
reduced by up to 1.7 pounds. With plastic, you can carry home more products
with less packaging. Only 2 pounds of plastic are needed to deliver roughly 8
gallons of a beverage – say water. 3 pounds of aluminum, or 27 pounds of glass,
would be needed to transport the same amount of drink.
Thanks
to plastic, packaging is more efficient, ultimately conserving resources. While
over 50% of all European goods are packaged in plastics, these plastics account
for 17% of all packaging weight (PlasticsEurope, 2015) . Furthermore, this
weight has been reduced by 28% over the past 10 years! (PlasticsEurope, 2015) . Lightweight
packaging has decreased shipping costs and trimmed transportation energy.
Lighter loads means fewer trucks are needed to ship the same amount of
products and cut down on waste generated.
Plastics in Shopping
Plastic
wrap protects meat and fish from shoppers’ poking and prodding, while keeping
them fresh. Plastic bottles are shatter-resistant, so in case of an accident,
little or no damage is caused. Plastic makes life easier indeed.
Plastics in the Home
Huge amounts of plastic
could be found in our mobile phones, televisions, sound systems, vacuum
cleaner, television sets, furniture, etc. Our clothes and floor coverings as
well are often made of a synthetic/natural fiber blend. In our kitchens, we
have plastic in the refrigerator, our plastic chairs, plastic counters, and
plastic plumbing in our water systems.
PlasticsEurope. (2015). What is plastic? Retrieved May
13, 2015, from PlasticsEurope: http://www.plasticseurope.org/what-is-plastic.aspx
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