Plastic is materials consisting of any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic compounds that can be molded into solid objects. Plasticity is the general property of all materials which can deform irreversibly without breaking but, in the class of moldable polymers, this occurs to such a degree that their actual name derives from this specific ability. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from petrochemicals.

Due to their low cost, ease of manufacture, versatility, and imperviousness to water, plastics are used in products of different scale.  They have prevailed over traditional materials, such as wood, stone, metal, glass, and ceramic, in some products previously left to natural materials.