Plastics

Commercial plastics are known as resins in North America, and are made of polymers. These polymers have been compounded with modifying or stabilizing additives. Typically based on the element carbon, polymer molecules are made from simple, oil-based raw materials. The starting materials for polymers are called monomers and they are small molecules. These small molecules go through a process called polymerization which combines them and forms very large molecules or polymers.