Stop for a moment and take a look around the room. Plastic is everywhere. Even if you’re sitting outside reading this on your phone, your phone is made of plastic. There’s no denying plastic has improved everyday life by leaps and bounds.
But which plastic is the best? Which one has delivered the most conveniences to our lives?
The Most Popular Plastic You Never Hear Of
Polypropylene is like the workhorse of the plastics industry. Because of its toughness and flexibility, it can be used in a variety of applications. Carpets, rugs, and mats--many of them use polypropylene because of its durability.
Rope--many types incorporate polypropylene because it is not only strong, but it doesn’t absorb water and floats. This kind of rope is ideal for most marine applications. If you’re a swimmer think about the rope used to make the swimming lanes. Yep...polypropylene.
If you enjoy puzzles, surely you’ve tried to solve a Rubik’s cube. The colored stickers on the sides...also polypropylene. Polypropylene can be manufactured in a variety of colors and is resistant to dirt. Of course it would be used to make those little stickers.
One of the greatest applications for polypropylene, though, has to be the living hinge.
What’s a living hinge and is it as awesome as it sounds?
Easy Living With Living Hinges
A living hinge is basically a piece of flexible material fabricated to be much thinner in the middle allowing the piece to fold. Think the lid of a Tic Tac container or the cap on reusable water bottles.
Most living hinges can be used throughout the life of the material before showing any signs of degradation. It’s lightweight, malleability, and strength make polypropylene the idea material to use in living hinges.
Convenience
We never think about the stuff we have or the ingenuity that goes into producing them. A world of science lies behind that Rubik’s Cube or that rope floating in the pool. Items made from materials like polypropylene are truly modern marvels that have made life so much more convenient.