Plastic - Wikipedia
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic materials composed primarily of polymers. Their defining characteristic, plasticity, allows them to be molded, extruded, or pressed into a diverse range of solid forms.

Plastic | Composition, History, Uses, Types, & Facts | Britannica
plastic, polymeric material that has the capability of being molded or shaped, usually by the application of heat and pressure.

About Plastic Products and Plastic Pollution | US EPA
Plastic products are generally versatile, durable and lightweight. Plastic products are prominent in the construction, transportation, and packaging industries. Plastic innovations contributed to many life-saving products that revolutionized the health care industry.

Plastic Numbers Explained: What Recycling Codes 1–7 Really Mean (Safety ...
Learn what the numbers on plastic containers mean, which plastics are safe, which to avoid, and how to recycle them properly using the 1–7 resin code chart.

Plastic Pollution Impacts and Solutions | World Resources Institute
Plastics pose a wide range of hazards for people, ecosystems and the climate. Ninety-nine percent of plastics are made from fossil fuels and generate planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions throughout their lifecycles.

Plastic Pollution Statistics: Key Facts and Data (2026)
Plastic pollution has become one of the most significant environmental challenges facing the world today. From oceans and rivers to food and drinking water, plastic waste is now found almost everywhere on Earth.

History and Future of Plastics - Science History Institute
Plastic is a word that originally meant “pliable and easily shaped.” It only recently became a name for a category of materials called polymers. The word polymer means “of many parts,” and polymers are made of long chains of molecules. Polymers abound in nature.

Plastic: Definition, Types, Properties, Applications ... - Xometry
Plastic is a synthetic material used in a wide variety of applications. Learn more about it here.

Everything you need to know about plastic pollution
Affordable, durable and flexible, plastic pervades modern life, appearing in everything from packaging to clothes to beauty products. But it is thrown away on a massive scale: every year, more than 280 million tonnes of short-lived plastic products become waste.

I’m a Microplastics Researcher. Here’s How To Limit Their Dangers
Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH, offers insights on what her research on microplastics has led her to change how she and her family eats and what cleaning products she uses.