'Plastics' were developed and exploited for their relative cheapness and ready fabrication into shapes and thicknesses matched by no natural materials. Expansion of the range of their uses does not change their position as relatively cheap materials, either in base cost or fabrication cost, or both. There are tradeoffs for this in durability or longevity, despite that some plastics have uses that no other materials can equal.

The near-universality of their use should not overwhelm our good sense. Those plastics that are not uniquely fitted to their uses are intended to be disposable, so there is no point in bemoaning either their deterioration or their fragility, and in some cases, their hideous unsuitability in texture, colour, shape or strength. No computer designed with a plastic case was planned to last to Antique (100 years) or Vintage (50 years) status. No million-dollar computer comes in an all-plastic housing.

As far as professional museology goes, natural deterioration of form and finish is regarded as concomitant with age and use, and it is universally considered to be preferable to display a cleaned original with its subsequent flaws rather than a refabricated falsehood.

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