MUNDOMATERIAL

Introduction I’ve been following closely some of the blogs I discussed in my post Blogs boycotting plastic and paying attention to the most hated plastic items. Disposable bags are probably the first on the list, but no doubt that plastic bottles are quickly following the same path. Many different issues converge on plastic bottles, angrying activists and worrying a bigger part of the population. So what are plastics bottles made of? What are the main issues related to the way we use them today? I’ll start with the basics, then. photo credit: bbaunach Common types of plastics used in bottles Most of bottles used for drinks are PET, or polyester terephtalate. Now, PET is one of the biggies in the plastic market, with Western Europe usage reaching 3.5 million tonnes in 2006. PET is used in many other applications apart from bottles, but packaging remains its turf. It’s resistant, transparent and it doesn’t break easily. Bottles made of HDPE are also used but not... 
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As I already mentioned in Bioplastics, there are two main types of renewable plastics: Identical chemistry to oil based plastics New chemistry Today I’m going to tell you a bit what’s being done to renew old plastics thanks to natural resources. Companies involved in the production of these plastics know very well the biggest advantage of their materials with respect to other bioplastics: direct substitution. Since their composition is the same as very common plastics, like PE or PU, they save users the need to adapt their processes. On the other hand, it only needs to be marketed as an improved product, of added value, in already existing markets. Great part of the job of bioplastics producers has being until recently to explain their products and find applications, more than selling sizeable amounts of it. For this reason, big polyolefin producers have already moved to add renewable products to their portfolio. Dow, I have already explained its growth and diversification... 
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