Solids and liquids need somewhere to be stored for commercial and home use, and many types of containers exist today to keep all kinds of materials contained conveniently and safely. Metal barrels or even old-fashioned wooden barrels can be used for oil, wine, water, or sand, or even waste materials. Logos and names can be spray–painted onto them, and other containers can also have labels on them to identify the container’s contents, storage suggestions, and even hazard warnings if need be. Commercial plastic jugs, clear plastic jugs, or other containers might have harmful chemicals such as pesticides in them, or they may contain flammable materials that should be kept away from heat sources. Today, the rise of plastic means that many items for everyday or commercial use are held inside of commercial plastic jugs, and a custom plastic container or colored bottles may vary widely in thickness, intended contents, size, and other factors. Someone whose business deals with a lot of commercial plastic jugs or similar containers may be interested to know more about this industry.

The Industry of Commercial Plastic Jugs

Plastic today is a common sight in the world, and many containers, appliances, and even tools involve plastics that are light but durable, making them effective for all kinds of work. Some older containers or devices have been entirely replaced by plastic varieties, or at least partially replaced. Most drinking vessels for soft drinks, for example, are in plastic rather than glass. Gone are the days of glass milk jugs being delivered by truck. Today’s grocery stores involve plastic jugs for milk, fruit juices, and much more, aside from cardboard cartons. Glass is often reserved for alcoholic drinks instead.

Plastic. How big is big plastic today? Today, the industry of making and using plastic employs nearly one million workers in the United States and generates an impressive $375 to the American economy, and around the world, nearly 600 billion pounds of plastic is consumed every year. This is not due to stop anytime soon; the market is growing 5% or so every year, and recent numbers show this growth. Back in 2013, some 107.5 billion pounds of plastics and resins were manufactured, an increase over 2012’s 105.9 billion pounds. Overall, the plastic industry is the United States’s third largest overall, and all 50 American states are home to injection molding and plastic manufacturing sites, making for a total of nearly 16,000 facilities. What can all these commercial plastic products be used for?

Plastic for the Consumer

A major commercial use for plastic is containers, such as commercial plastic jugs, boxes, and others. Imagine an office water cooler. The machinery inside is made of metal, but the body itself is likely to be made of plastic, and the water jug on top is nearly always made of plastic. A glass bottle that size would be very heavy and difficult to transport or hold up, but a plastic jug can handle the job. For commercial uses, all sorts of industries may use commercial plastic jugs, such as a car auto shop. Liquids such as antifreeze, brake fluid, and more can be held in commercial plastic jugs, which are often opaque and color-coded. Jugs with harmful contents like industrial fluids tend to have small openings and screw-on caps, and they also have handles for ease of pouring. Commercial plastic jugs of all kinds will usually have a label sticker on the body, informing the user of the brand, the contents, and directions for use as well as hazard warnings. A bottle of car window wiper fluid, for example, may be transparent and allow the user to see the blue liquid inside, but children may mistake it for a sugary drink. Liquids that may be accidentally consumed will come with warning labels as well as poison control directions for safety. Commonly, the law will mandate such warnings and hazard directions, and they should not be marked on or removed.

Jugs can also be for food and drink, and grocery stores just as often have juices, milk, and more in plastic containers, again with sticker labels for brand name. Stickers will also have the nutrition facts and the product’s bar code for shoppers to use.