The plastics industry has a long history of consuming fillers, beginning with the addition of wood flour to phenolics at the turn of the century. Since then, as polymer scientists commercialized new compounds, the need for plastic fillers similarly grew, generally for inexpensive products used primarily to reduce the price of the plastic compound. But over the last 25 years or so, the role of these additives has changed dramatically and for many the term "filler" is truly incorrect. In 1998, the average value for industrial fillers in all applications (including paint, paper, and adhesives) was
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