Boy Wearing a Bike Helmet

Chemistry of Plastics

Versatile plastics inspire countless innovations that help make life better, healthier and safer every day.

Strong, lightweight plastics enable us to live better while contributing to sustainability in many ways—all of which stem from plastics’ ability to help us do more with less.  

Plastics help us protect the environment by reducing waste, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and saving energy at home, at work, and on the road. Plastic packaging helps to dramatically extend the shelf life of fresh foods and beverages while allowing us to ship more product with less packaging material—reducing both food and packaging waste.

Plastic insulation, sealants, and other building products are making our homes significantly more energy efficient, while reducing costs for heating and cooling. And lightweight plastics in cars can dramatically increase miles per gallon, saving drivers money at the pump.

Plastics not only help doctors save lives, they protect our loved ones at home, on the road, on the job and at play. And these advanced materials are helping make health care more affordable.

40+
Projects valued at over $7B in investments, potentially diverting nearly 9M metric tons (~21 billion pounds) of waste from landfills (per year)
10%
Reduction in vehicle weight can result in a 6% - 8% increase in that vehicle’s fuel economy, according to the Department of Energy.
Woman Wearing Waterproof Clothing in Forest

Our Initiative: America's Plastic Makers®

Plastic is a resource too valuable to waste. Making Sustainable Change is a collaborative effort of America’s Plastic Makers® and partners seeking to end plastic waste while lowering carbon emissions throughout the plastics lifecycle.

Explore PlasticMakers.org

Explore Chemistries Critical to Plastics

Automotive Coating Application with Proper Personal Protective Equipment

Polyurethane

Included in everything from coatings, adhesives, sealants, to apparel, appliances, automotive, and flooring polyurethanes can easily be adapted to solve some of the most challenging problems.

Learn more
Microwaving Food in Container

BPA

From protective food can linings to eyeglasses to bullet-resistant security shields used by police officers, polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins create high-performance materials that have been used for decades.

Learn more
Charging Electric Vehicle

Facts & Highlights

  • Plastic materials and products play an important part in cutting-edge technologies used in the space program, in bulletproof vests and even prosthetic limbs.
  • The term “plastics” includes materials composed of various elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, and sulfur.
  • Using plastics can help reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions throughout the life of a product or package by allowing manufacturers and consumers to do more with less.
  • Plastics reduce vehicle weight can have a significant effect on fuel efficiency and emissions.
CONTACT US
Matthew Kastner