Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Which plastics are considered common commodity resins?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
plastic
Plastic soft-drink bottles are commonly made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Commodity resins are plastics produced at high volume and low cost, primarily utilized for common disposable items and durable goods. The most prominent examples of these materials include:
- Polyethylene
- Polypropylene
- Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
- Polystyrene1
These plastics are characterized by their chemical composition, as they are all made up of polymers containing only aliphatic (linear) carbon atoms in their backbone chains. In contrast to specialty or engineering resins, which are tailored for specific, high-performance applications, commodity resins are the standard materials found in a wide range of everyday consumer products.1