Plastics are an important part of our world. You probably do not even realize the importance and the existence they have even in your own home. If you look around, you will probably notice many different types of plastics. The food containers in your cupboards are secured with some type of plastic packaging. The coffee drink you grab out of your fridge is held together with plastic material. When you brush your teeth in the morning, both your toothbrush and your toothpaste are protected and enclosed in plastic packaging. Even the medications that you take either daily are protected with a type of plastic packaging. Plastics are an important way to secure the items we consume and use on a daily basis. A lot goes into the production and the manufacturing of these plastic products.

Medical plastics and food and industrial plastics are probably the most common types of plastic manufacturers. M%A volume for most processes declined in 2013 led by injection molding and extrusion, which decreases 22% and 2%, respectively. The majority of injection molding activity occurred in industrial plastics, followed by an even mix of medical plastics, automotive plastics and plastic packaging. The food packaging container and drinkware products plastics make up much of the plastic manufacturing business.

Drinkware products in the plastic manufacturing industry might include soft drinks, water bottles and coffee drinks that are insulated and provide security and temperature control for these drinks. Drinkware manufacturers put a lot of quality and design into these plastic products, because they need to keep cold items cold, hot items hot and they need to ensure that the products for consumption are kept sanitary and enclosed. The same standards go for food packaging containers manufacturers. Drinkware products and foodware products are some of the most important types of plastic packaging available.

Plastics are also an important part in the pharmaceutical industries. Most medications are stored in some type of a medical injection molding package. Many over the counter medications are stored in bubble plastics, securing each individual medication for a single time use. Others are stored in a pharmaceutical bottle, ensuring that they are childproof and are secure from outside containments. The medication plastics are very important as well, because of the safety that is involved with them. Many medications are unsafe for young children, and the plastic containers need to be easy enough to open for an adult, but difficult for a child to have access to. This is different from drinkware products, because of safety being an issue.

Plastics are a multi billion dollar industry. In 2012, plastics manufacturers shipped about $373 billion in goods. Plastics will continue to be an important part of our world for many years. Additionally, many people and organizations are working toward recycling efforts, keeping the plastics out of landfills and finding ways to use them. Thus far, plastics have shown great recyclability, easily being constructed and reused. For example, drinkware products can be recycled and then made into additional drinkware plastic packaging. This not only saves the environment, but also provides cost savings to the manufacturers.

Injection molding and plastic manufacturing facilities can be found throughout the country in all 50 states. In fact, there are nearly 16,000 facilities just in the United States. Plastics are and will continue to be a very important part of our world. If you consciously look around your home and point out all of the items that you use that use some type of plastic packaging, you will further prove how important it is.