Which type of plastic can be reheated and reshaped?

Thermoplastics are the type of plastic that can be reheated and reshaped. This characteristic is due to their molecular structure, which allows the polymers to loosen when heated, enabling the material to be molded into different shapes and then solidified upon cooling. This ability to be remolded multiple times makes thermoplastics highly versatile and ideal for various applications, ranging from packaging materials to automotive components.

In contrast, thermosets are a type of plastic that, once cured through heat or a chemical reaction, cannot be remelted or reshaped. This irreversible change is what defines them and limits their flexibility. Elastomers provide some stretchability and flexibility, but they do not have the same ease of reheating and reshaping as thermoplastics. Composite plastics consist of two or more different materials and can possess unique properties, but they too do not share the reheating and remolding capabilities of thermoplastics. Thus, the ability of thermoplastics to be repeatedly reheated and reshaped makes them the correct choice for this question.