There are a number of short cuts you can take to help you indentify plastics materials:
- Does it have a living hinge? – it is almost certainly polypropylene
- Bois durci often has a small moulded bird’s wing and or the words ‘bois durci’.
- Polystyrene sounds tinny when tapped
- Phenol formaldehyde can smell of carbolic acid
- Polymethyl methacrylate has a dull sound when tapped
- Cellulose nitrate can have a smell of camphor especially noticeable inside lidded containers
- Cellulose acetate can have a smell of vinegar
- Vulcanised rubber has a sulphurous rubbery smell
- Polyethylene has a waxy feel
- Recycling triangles and numbers were introduced in 1988 and the numbers mean the following:
- 1 = PET or PETE
- 2 = HDPE
- 3 = PVC
- 4 = LDPE
- 5 = PP
- 6 = PS
- 7 = other
Trade names
Trade names moulded into the base of objects are also an signpost to the type of material used:
- Alkathene = low density polyethylene or high density polyethylene
- Argosy = melamine formaldehyde
- Bakelite = phenol formaldehyde (filled or unfilled)
- Bandalasta = urea formaldehyde
- Beatl = urea formaldehyde
- Beetle = urea formaldehyde
- Bexoid = cellulose acetate
- Carvacraft = phenol formaldehyde (unfilled)
- Catalin = phenol formaldehyde (unfilled)
- Celanese = cellulose acetate
- Celluloid = cellulose nitrate
- Clarifoil = cellulose acetate
- Corian = polymethyl methacrylate
- Cycolac = acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
- Darvic = unplasticised polyvinyl chloride
- Ebena = Bois durci
- Ebonite = Hard vulcanised rubber
- Erinoid = casein formaldehyde
- Estron = cellulose acetate
- Galatith = casein formaldehyde
- Gaydon = melamine formaldehyde
- Hostalen = high density polyethylene
- Lacqrene = polystyrene
- Lactoid = casein formaldehyde
- Lexan = polycarbonate
- LingaLonga = urea formaldehyde
- Lucite = polymethyl methacrylate
- Makrolon = polycarbonate
- Melaware = melamine formaldehyde
- Melinex = polyethylene terephthalate
- Melmac = melamine formaldehyde
- Melmex = melamine formaldehyde
- Mouldrite = phenol formaldehyde (filled)
- Mylar = polyethylene terephthalate
- Nestorite = phenol formaldehyde (filled)
- Novodur = acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
- Nylon = polyamide
- Oroglas = polymethyl methacrylate
- Parkesine = cellulose nitrate
- Perspex = polymethyl methacrylate
- Plaskon = urea formaldehyde
- Plastacele = cellulose acetate
- Plexiglass = polymethyl methacrylate
- Polystyrol = polystyrene
- Polythene = low density polyethylene or high density polyethylene
- Propathene = polypropylene
- Rigidex = high density polyethylene
- Roanoid = phenol formaldehyde (filled)
- Scarab = urea formaldehyde
- Styron = polystyrene
- Tenite = cellulose acetate
- Tyvek = low density polyethylene
- Vulcanite = hard vulcanised rubber
- Welvic = unplasticised polyvinyl chloride
- Xylonite = cellulose nitrate