As the weather warms up, so do sales at sports and recreational equipment outlets. The ringing cash registers bring a sparkle in the eyes of plastics and composite producers that supply the materials for everything from water sports and camping equipment to golf and boating gear. And the rewards are not minuscule. Last year and into part of this year, sports and recreational equipment accounted for some 267.9 million lbs of plastics sales, according to the Plastic Buyer Profiles complied by Phillip Townsend Associates, Inc., Houston, TX. Camping, fishing, and hunting equipment led the way with some 65.5 million lbs consumed for these activities, followed closely by pool, swimming, and diving products with 60.8 million lbs marketed. Polyethylene heads the list when it comes to the types of resins employed in the sports and recreational arena, with 159.5 million lbs of plastics going into these products. The next closest resin was polypropylene, with sales reaching 50.3 million lbs during the 1996-1997 time period. Here's a look at some of the innovative uses for these materials.
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