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Friction Fit or Hinged – Choose Your Plastic Box Type Wisely!

Rigid plastic boxes come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging from compartment boxes to rounded types, to even heart shaped styles for special purposes. But, when it comes to all varieties of plastic boxes, there are two predominant styles related to how they open and close: one is with hinges and the other, without hinges—also known as friction fit.

How Well Do You Know Your Polystyrene Plastic Boxes?

Inquiring about the different types of plastics is as good as asking how many varieties of cheese are out there. Well, essentially there is American, Swiss, cheddar, and mozzarella but then, there’s also Gouda, Monterey Jack, Gorgonzola, feta, Gruyere, and so on and so forth! You get the problem, right?

4 Factors to Consider Before Picking Out Your Rigid Plastic Packaging

We’re all familiar with the timeless adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” and yet, there are times we end up doing just that! At least with rigid plastic packaging. The trickiest part is, on looks alone, a lot of plastic packaging looks much the same. It’s part of why the conundrum of choosing the right plastic packaging for your product is a little more challenging than picking out a book based on its cover.

The Quick Answer to Recycling Rigid Plastic Boxes: Yes!

Can we recycle polystyrene products? We are often asked this question. The quick answer is: yes. Polystyrene plastic is used for a vast amount of household and business needs, and you can recycle the types of rigid plastic boxes that we produce at Alpha Rho. At Alpha Rho, we work with general-purpose polystyrene to produce our large assortment of rigid plastic boxes—the kind of plastic that is easily recyclable and that we recycle internally as well. More about that further in this discussion.

The questions about recycling polystyrene are ones that concern the public, as there have been issues surrounding it.

The Clear Choice with Alpha Rho

Your life, in many ways, actually may depend on it. At the very least, it is a material you’ve come to count on in vast and varied ways. Food storage (think quick take-out during a hectic day), organizing supplies (what a mess without ‘em!), candy boxes (a sweet gift for your sweetie?), or a lightweight enclosure to drop in your backpack (with first-aid supplies as you hike the Appalachian Trail). Polystyrene is also used in everyday items like blow dryers, children’s toys, office supplies … the list goes on. Convenient, lightweight, inexpensive, versatile—there are virtually no areas of our lives that polystyrene plastic has not touched.

Alpha Rho, New England’s largest plastic box manufacturer, amps up its green index commitment with the help of North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce and NuGen Capital Management, the company supporting the Lunenburg solar project. A Rhode Island company recently built a solar power plant in Lunenburg, MA, and the company struck a deal with the chamber to sell its net metering credits from the plant to local manufacturers. Alpha Rho is among the six local manufacturers from the Fitchburg, MA, area to take advantage of this locally produced energy.

Clear polystyrene lid and hinged plastic boxes are an economical choice for a wide range of food packaging applications.

Polystyrene Plastic is in our to-go boxes, packaging supplies, CD cases, yogurt containers, and even in our running shoes. Polystyrene is one of the most commonly used plastics in our everyday life. But does this frequently used polystyrene plastic comply with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations?