Some people have called plastic one of the greatest inventions of the modern age. At first I thought that was a ridiculous statement, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much plastic injection molding has made my life better. It’s easy to be ignorant and complain about plastics being wasteful or bad for the environment, but without this wonder material, I’m not sure I’d want to live in this modern world. Here are the five things I’d miss most if plastics disappeared:
1. Molded plastic liquid containers.
It’s fun to drink beer and exotic sodas out of glass bottles, but containers made of molded plastic make the modern beverage world spectacularly varied. It probably wouldn’t be cost effective to ship most beverages if they came in glass. Plus, how would I be able to drink on the beach without my molded plastics pint carrying marshmallow vodka.
2. All shapes and sizes of food storage.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve run out of plastic bags or storage containers after a homemade meal and had to use aluminum foil for my leftovers. Don’t get me wrong, foil is great for a lot of things, but when it comes to keeping leftover food, I’d rather throw it in the garbage. Those little plastic bags are great for storing cooked or raw meat, chopped vegetables, salad, and fruit. Without plastic containers, my dog would probably weight over 100 pounds from all the leftover fettuccine and steak I fed him.
3. No plastic injection molding? No hygiene!
When I look in my bathroom, all I see are plastic toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, deodorant containers, shavers, shampoo bottles, body wash containers and toilet brushes. How did people use cleaning products before the invention of plastic? When I imagine the world without plastic, I start to feel unclean and gross. What would the modern world smell like if molded plastics weren’t here to hold and ship our cleaning supplies?
4. Electronics with plastic molded components.
A television built out of chrome plated steel would probably look nice in my living room, but I wouldn’t want to lug it up to my fourth story apartment. As modern technology allows companies to make electronics smaller and smaller, injection molding helps ensure that chassis and other components stay as light as possible so that I can take them home.
5. No custom plastic molding for prototype creation!
If you’ve got a great idea for a product or invention, one of the first things you’d do is create a blueprint and compile the materials needed to construct your creation. However, if plastics were unavailable, you’d have to resort to using more expensive materials, like metals or wood, which would increase the weight and cost of your design. Because plastic is available, products are lighter, cheaper, and when recycled properly once they’re used, they can be melted down and poured into another plastic injection mold and used to create some else new and useful!
What Can You Create With Superior Plastics?
If you’ve got a design that you’d like to bring to life with custom plastics, or a product that needs to be manufactured with plastic injection molding machines, contact Superior Plastics and we’ll get started with our plastic molding experts!
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