Poly-What? Understanding The Difference Between Our Two Most Commonly Used Netting Materials

Spend five minutes on our website and you’re sure to come across two words that look very similar:

Polyethylene and polypropylene.

They start and end the same and are both equally as difficult to say, if you’re saying them fast.

But they are both materials that are essential to the work we do here at Renco Nets.

It’s why we thought we’d take some time today to actually explain what each material is and where it comes from.

First up:

Polyethylene – The World’s Most Common Plastic

It’s one of those words you feel like you always see, right? And there’s a good reason: it’s the most common plastic in the world.

At last count, over 100 million tonnes of polyethylene resins are produced a year, which makes up for 34% of all the plastics in the world.

But it was actually invented by accident.

A German scientist called Hans Von Pechmann was doing another experiment and produced the substance that became known as polyethylene by chance.

But its true potential wasn’t realised until the 1950s when scientists started experimenting with it and discovered its versatility.

These days, it’s mostly used for packaging, due to it being relatively light but extremely durable.

Here at Renco Nets, we use it in a wide range of different products, from cricket practice nets to the scramble nets used in children’s soft-play materials.

The question now is:

What is polypropylene and how is it different?

Let’s look:

Polypropylene – The Tough One

With about 55 tonnes produced per year, polypropylene is the second most common plastic after polyethylene.

It has very similar properties to polyethylene, but polypropylene is slightly harder and more resistant to heat.

That’s really the key difference.

The same scientists – J. Paul Hogan and Robert Banks – who developed polyethylene for mass commercial use also created polypropylene during the same experiments in the 1950 for Phillips Petroleum.

Being that bit tougher, polypropylene makes for great rope.

We supply a variety of different types, including multicolour polypropylene rope, which is pretty rare in the industry.

We also use polypropylene in our multi-coloured chevron netting, which comes in two different types and is incredibly popular in the child’s soft play market.

You can see how the two often get mixed up as they have very similar qualities – but ultimately, the difference is one of toughness and resistance to heat.

But if you’re ever unsure about which would be most suitable for your specific rope or netting need, you can always give us a call on 01469 575804 and we’ll be more than happy to advise you.

In fact, whatever your netting need might be – here at Renco Nets, we’re always on hand to help. Get in touch today.