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Durable
Goods
Plastic
Use Increases
Manufactured items with a useful life
of more than three years, such as automobiles, appliances,
computers, and building and construction products are classified
as durable goods. Worldwide, the number and types of durable
goods manufactured and sold each year is rapidly expanding. Some
of these items have a relatively short lifecycle, e.g.,
computers. The lifecycle of others, such as building products,
can extend beyond 100 years.
The use of plastics in all of these applications
continues to grow in volume and importance as design engineers,
manufacturers, and consumers rely on the unique performance, low
cost, and styling benefits of plastics. Today, it is often the
life-cycle environmental benefit of plastic that helps drive
growth. Examples are the thermal insulating properties of
plastic foam used in refrigerators and the light weight of
engineering plastics that enhances both the safety and fuel
economy of today’s automobiles.
As the market for durable goods increases each year, the
absolute quantity of durable goods of all types reaching the end
of their useful life is increasing as well. This has led to
increased attention to repair and reuse, material and energy
recovery, and disposal of end-of-life (EOL) durables.
Interestingly, durable goods have historically represented some
of the best recycling success stories. End of life automobiles,
for example, are recycled in the
U.S.
at a rate well
over 90 percent. White goods, such as ...
...Continued
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