> I thought black objects absorb all wavelengths, and white objects reflect them all away. The point about a black piece of plastic is that the energy is absor

> I thought black objects absorb all wavelengths, and white objects reflect them all away. The point about a black piece of plastic is that the energy is absorbed at the surface -- it can't penetrate the plastic to any significant depth. That means the majority of the plastic is protected from the ultraviolet wavelengths that would destroy it.