Commodity plastics or commodity polymers are plastics produced in high volumes for applications such as packaging, food containers, and household products, including both disposable products and durable goods. In contrast to engineering plastics, commodity plastics tend to be inexpensive to produce and exhibit relatively weak mechanical properties. Widely used commodity plastics include polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Products made from commodity plastics include disposable plates, disposable cups, photographic and magnetic tape, clothing, reusable bags, medical trays, and seeding trays.
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Commodity plastics in the context of Engineering plastic
Engineering plastics are a group of plastic materials that have better mechanical or thermal properties than the more widely used commodity plastics (such as polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and polyethylene).
Engineering plastics are more expensive than standard plastics, therefore they are produced in lower quantities and tend to be used for smaller objects or low-volume applications (such as mechanical parts), rather than for bulk and high-volume ends (like containers and packaging). Engineering plastics have a higher heat resistance than standard plastics and are continuously usable at temperatures up to about 150 °C (300 °F).
View the full Wikipedia page for Engineering plastic