High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) is commonly used for which items?

• A. Meat trays.
• B. Ceramic mugs.
• C. Glass bottles.
• D. Metal cookware.

Answer: (A)

HIPS is a tough, lightweight plastic that’s easy to mould into rigid, shallow shapes, making it cheap to produce large quantities of disposable packaging. For meat trays, these traits are ideal: a stiff tray that keeps meat in place, is safe for food contact, and can be manufactured affordably on a wide scale. The material also handles rough handling and shipping without cracking, and it can be finished clearly or in color for branding.

Ceramic mugs are made from clay and fired at high temperatures to achieve their ceramic strength and heat tolerance, so a plastic like HIPS isn’t suitable. Glass bottles require a material with the properties of glass—rigidity, transparency, and heat resistance specific to glass—rather than a soft plastic. Metal cookware needs metals that can withstand direct, repeated contact with high heat, which plastics like HIPS cannot endure.