PP (Polypropylene)
Polypropylene is possibly one of the most recognizable plastics due to the trend, begun in the 1990s, for using it in all kinds of coloured, matt translucent products. It’s also one the easiest plastics to identify and remember: just think of the waxy feel of PP on the butterfly hinge on a toothpaste tube – PP is the best commodity plastic for withstanding repeated bending.
This, and its ability to be coloured are two of its key characteristics. It also performs well at high temperatures, but less well at low temperatures. It has good toughness, chemical resistance and the ability to create a built in ‘live hinge’, as on the toothpaste cap, which opens hundreds of times without shearing. It is, like other commodity plastics ...
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