PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) bags, Plastic bottles and Plastic chairs are made of thermoplastics. These articles can be recycled. Thermoplastic materials are made of polymers which are linked by intermolecular forces, forming linear or branched structures. In case of thermoplastics, the shape hardens when it is cooled, but can be reshaped when heated up again. Polythene is a thermoplastic polymer. Its tangled polymer chains can uncoil and slide past each other, making it a flexible material.

Telephone instruments, Cooker handles, Electric switches and Ball point pens are made of Thermosetting plastics. Thermosetting plastics are those materials that are made by polymers joined together by chemical bonds, having a highly-crosslinked polymer structure. Thermosetting polymers, once moulded, cannot be softened when heated. They cannot be reshaped.