Polyethylene facts for kids

A bottle made of LDPE

Polyethylene (often called PE) is a very common type of plastic. It's known as a thermoplastic, which means it can be melted and reshaped many times without losing its quality. This makes it super useful for all sorts of products we use every day.

Polyethylene is used to make lots of things you see around your home and school. For example, it's used for garbage bags, plastic wrap for food, and even the plastic bottles you drink from. It's also used for things like plastic tubes and the covering around electric cables.

What is Polyethylene?

Polyethylene is a type of plastic that is very flexible and strong. It's made from a simple chemical building block called ethylene. When many ethylene units join together, they form a long chain, creating polyethylene. This long chain structure gives polyethylene its useful properties.

One cool thing about polyethylene is that it's a thermoplastic. Imagine a material that you can heat up, mold into a new shape, and then let cool down. You can do this over and over again! This makes polyethylene great for recycling and for making many different products.

Where is Polyethylene Used?

Polyethylene is one of the most widely used plastics in the world. People make over 80 million tonnes of it every year! You can find it in many places:

• Packaging: Think of plastic bags, food wrap, and bottles. Polyethylene helps keep food fresh and products safe.
• Construction: It's used for plastic pipes that carry water or gas.
• Everyday Items: Many pre-made plastic parts, like those in toys or household items, are made from PE.
• Electrical Insulation: It helps protect electric cables, making them safe to use.

Sometimes, plastic wrap made from polyethylene isn't very sticky. But by adding a special type called linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), it becomes stickier and much stronger. This makes it even better for wrapping things tightly.

Different Kinds of Polyethylene

There are a few main types of polyethylene, each with slightly different properties that make them good for specific uses:

• LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene): This type is very flexible. It's often used for plastic bags, squeeze bottles, and plastic films. The bottle in the picture at the top is made of LDPE.
• HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene): This type is stronger and more rigid than LDPE. It's used for things like milk jugs, detergent bottles, and sturdy pipes. You can see an HDPE pipe in the image gallery below.
• LLDPE (Linear Low-Density Polyethylene): This type is very flexible but also strong. It's often used for things like stretch wrap and some types of plastic bags because it resists tearing well.

Why is PE so Important?

Polyethylene is super important because it's cheap to make, durable, and can be used for so many different things. Its ability to be molded and recycled helps reduce waste and makes it a valuable material for modern life. It helps us store food, transport goods, and even build important infrastructure like water pipes.

Images for kids

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  The repeating unit within polyethylene in its most stable shape.

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  A pill box given to a technician in 1936. It was made from the very first pound of polyethylene!

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  A hip replacement part made from stainless steel and a very strong type of polyethylene.

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  An HDPE pipe being installed in Western Australia. The white outer layer helps keep it cool.

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  A recyclable bag made from polyethylene, showing its resin identification code.

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  A sign in India saying Say no to polythene.

See also

In Spanish: Polietileno para niños