Types of Recyclable Plastic

It's well known that recycling is good for the environment, and it has a wide variety of benefits. For the sake of the environment, it's important to know how to tell your plastics apart to determine what can or can't be recycled.

Benefits

Recycling creates four jobs in manufacturing for every one job that would be created by the waste management and disposal industry. It also costs less than landfills and incineration, both of which are bad for the environment. It saves energy because it takes 70 percent less energy to recycle plastic than to create it from new materials, and recycling reduces pollution in the air and water.

Misconceptions

Plastics in curbside recycling bins are usually made into secondary materials rather than new containers of the same kind.

Furthermore, the well known chasing arrow symbol doesn't mean that something is recyclable or that something is made from recycled plastic. The only important part of the symbol is the number in the center, which denotes the type of plastic the item is made from.

Types

The chasing arrow symbol contains a number in the center, one through seven. Types 1, 2, and 3 are common for containers, and type 3 is also used for piping, siding, medical equipment. Type 4 is sometimes used in plastic bags and squeezable bottles, as well as various cloths. Type 5 is most often found in open-top containers, such as yogurt cups, as well as medicine bottles and other containers. Type 6 is used for egg cartons, disposable plates and cups, aspirin bottles. Type 7 plastics include a large number of plastics that don't fit into the other categories, and are often non-recyclable.

How to Recycle

Check with your recycling agency to find out what types of plastic they can recycle. Most agencies collect types 1 and 2, and some---but not all---accept types 4, 5, 6, and 7. Type 3 is rarely recycled, but is taken by some plastic lumber makers.

Some grocery stores collect plastic grocery and produce bags, but if you can't find a place that does, you can reuse them yourself. Many places won't recycle type 5 plastic, but Preserve's Gimme 5 program will recycle these plastics. They can be brought in to participating Whole Foods Market stores or mailed directly to the company.

What They Become

Types 2, 3, 4 and 7 can be made into plastic lumber. Type 1 plastics are often made into polar fleece, carpets, furniture and other materials. Type 2 can also be made into new kinds of containers, pens, floor tiles. Type 3 can be used for speed bumps, flooring, wire jacketing, and various containers. Type 4 plastics can be made into trash can liners, compost bins, floor tiles and other materials. Type 5 plastics can be used for battery cables, bins, brooms, brushes. Type 6 is often used in Styrofoam, insulation and egg cartons. Type 7 plastics, besides being made in plastic lumber, have few other uses besides custom-made products.

References

• The Consumer Recycling Guide: Commonly Recycled Materials
• What Do Recycling Symbols on Plastics Mean?
• Recycling Benefits - A Recycling Revolution

Resources

• Preserve: Gimme 5 Program