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So all plastics are the same. Plastic is plastic. Right? Wrong. That’s like saying skim milk
and whipping cream are the same. Honestly.
Of the seven different plastic types, HDPE is marked with a 2. HDPE is short for high-density
polyethylene. Guess what LDPE and MDPE stand for? Yep. Low and medium.
I am going to show you the difference between high, medium, and low density polyethylene
with a basic squeeze-me test. See? HDPE, is not very squeezable. MDPE is medium squeezy.
And LDPE is the squeeziest of all.
HDPE can be pigmented or unpigmented. That means it comes in different colors. Uncolored
HDPE is translucent, or “naturale” as we call it in the biz, and is well suited
for products with a short shelf life. Like milk. All natural milk in all-natural HDPE.
Not only does it look good … taste good, but does a body good too. Inside and out.
HDPE has an excellent resistance to most solvents, which makes it the go-to plastic type for
detergents, cleaners, industrial chemicals, antifreeze and bleach. It’s also used extensively
for less harsh products like shampoo, conditioner, motor oil and soaps. Container and Packaging
Supply has a huge line of HDPE products.
HDPE is used in a lot of different products. Your breakfast of champions comes in a cereal
box with an HDPE liner. You push your groceries around in an HDPE shopping cart. A lot of
the items on the shelves come in HDPE. You may bring your groceries home in an HDPE grocery
bag. HDPE makes grocery shopping possible.
Recycled HDPE is used to make pipe, buckets (hint, hint), flowerpots, plastic lumber for
your deck, and recycling bins. Cool, huh? You can put your recyclable containers you
want to recycle in a recycled recycling bin. That, my friends, is the triangle of life.