How to Recycle Plastic Spoons & Forks

You can reuse your plastic spoons and forks.

Plastic cutlery is a convenience that Americans have long cherished. Made of polystyrene or plastic #6, disposable spoons, forks and knives are recyclable, though not cost-effectively. Fewer recycling facilities are inclined to collect them as a result. Fortunately, the ranks of plastic cutlery recyclers continue to grow, keeping the items themselves highly adaptable for other creative uses. A biodegradable line of plastic cutlery is also increasing in accessibility and may even replace traditional plastic flatware. In the meantime, you can decide to recycle or reuse your used cutlery.

Instructions

Recycle

1. Consult Earth911's recycling directory. Type "Plastic," and select "Plastic #6" from the drop-down menu. Key in your Zip code.

2. Confirm whether your curbside provider accepts and recycles plastic cutlery by looking them up in the generated list of recyclers. If they're not on the list, then select an alternative recycler. Call to confirm its location and ascertain any special requirements.

3. Prepare your used plastic flatware for collection according to your recycling service provider's instructions. Rinse them, especially if you need to store them for a while. Place the items in your recycling containers for curbside collection or drive them over to a drop-off location when you have accumulated enough volume to merit a trip.

Reuse

1. Reuse your plastic utensils at home. Properly cleaned, you should be able to use them again for a few more meals around the dinner table, in lunchboxes, at work or at your next gathering.

2. Discover other creative uses for your plastic spoons and forks outdoors. Stick them upside down into the earth to shore up drooping vegetation or to label the plants in your garden. Scatter a few used spoons and forks in a children's sandbox to use as nifty little shovels and as implements to shape and add texture to imaginative sand sculptures.

3. Contact a local organization that teaches arts and crafts to children and adults. Plastic spoons and forks lend themselves well to interesting and creative projects. Alternatively, contact a local art teacher or an art teachers association. They may be able to point you in the direction of a local art supply depot that accepts recycled donations. Where they exist, arts teachers are generally treated to a vast warehouse of materials to take back to their classrooms for creative reuse.

Tips & Warnings

• There is a limit to safely reusing plastic spoons, forks and knives for eating, according to the University of Nebraska. Plastic cutlery is designed for one-time use. Repeated washing and drying of plastic utensils may break them down and allow bacteria to thrive in them imperceptibly.

References

• Demesne: Plastics Recycling
• Earth911: Recycling To-Go Plastics
• World Environmental Organization: Plastic Utensils
• University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension: Food Reflections

Resources

• State of Massachusetts: Kids in Motion
• KinderArt: Cutlery Wind Chimes
• Artists Helping Children: AHC Arts and Crafts
• The Living Web: Art from Recycled Materials -- Reuse, Recycle Artist Supplies
• Can't Stop Making Things: A Rose is a Rose?
• Greenopolis: Amazing Lamps Made from Recycled Plastic Utensils