Glossary

Stabilizers increase both virgin resin's and post-consumer plastic's strength and resistance to degradation. Heat stabilizers provide resistance to thermal degradation during periods of exposure to elevated temperatures. Thermal degradation is reduced not only during processing but also during the useful life of the finished products. Light stabilizers are used in a variety of resins to limit the effects of sunlight or other sources of ultra violet radiation. Antioxidants can be used as sacrificial Additives to protect plastics from oxidizing environments. Stabilizers are important for post-consumer plastics because reprocessing exposes the material to additional heat histories through compounding and moulding. It is also important to replenish sacrificial Additives that might have been expended during the material's previous application and/or during the added heat histories.