Container Recycling Numbers Are Resin ID Codes
What the Numbers Mean and How to Use Them for Safety and Recycling
Plastics marked with the “recycling triangle” of chasing arrows enclosing a number from 1 thru 7 doesn’t mean a purchase is something that can be recycled. Some plastics have no second-life use and market demand for them is minimal.
Plastics Resin-ID Codes for Recycling
The following recycling number markings only indicate the resin type.
#1 – PET (or PETE) used for soda, water, and some beer and liquor bottles, boil-in-bags, containers for mouthwash, medicine, drugs, peanut butter, salad dressing, vegetable oils, oven-safe food trays, and a variety of other consumer product and one-use beverage containers. PET is recycled into fiberfill for clothing and sleep products, bean bags, rope, car bumpers, tennis ball felt, combs, carpets, cassette tapes, boat sails, shopping bags, or furniture, none of which can be recycled again.
#2 – HDPE (high-density polyethylene), is the opaque plastic used for milk jugs; juice bottles, bleach, detergent, household cleaner or shampoo bottles for trash and shopping bags, motor oil bottles, butter and yogurt tubs, and cereal box liners. More stable than PET and safer from hormone-like chemicals, it is used for jug-type laundry detergent, cat litter, and bleach containers, toys, piping, plastic lumber, and rope. Recycled HDPE is in fairly strong demand by manufacturers, especially for plastic lumber; also for indestructible Tyvek mailing envelopes and white contamination suits, which cannot be recycled.
#3 – PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is the least recyclable plastic, releasing dioxin in manufacture and as it ages. It is used in plumbing, shower curtains, wire jackets, siding, windows, dashboards, outdoor furniture, and jungle gyms. PVC items are generally one-use, becoming trash when discarded. Toxic additives and stabilizers such as lead and plasticizers contribute further pollution as it breaks down.
PVC contains BPA and phthalates, as well as DEHA (di(2-ethylhexyl)adipate), which is linked to liver cancer. DEHA in cling wrap leaches into oily foods on contact. Recycled or discarded, this dangerous product may one day come back to haunt consumers.
#4 – LDPE (low-density polyethylene) is used for wrapping films, dry cleaning and sandwich bags, tote bags and frozen food, as well as condiment squeeze bottles, clothing, furniture, and carpet. Bags may be recycled into new bags or plastic lumber, but recycling uses more energy than producing virgin product. Most LDPE ends up in landfills, but is just beginning to be accepted through curbside recycling centers, EDCO, and grocery stores that may accept plastic grocery bags.
#5 – PP (polypropylene) does not contain Bisphenol A, is used in yogurt and margarine tubs, condiment squeeze bottles, bottle caps, drinking straws, medicine bottles, Tupperware, and new BPA-free baby bottles. It has few second-life uses to justify its recycling collection, and few recyclers accept it.
#6 – PS (polystyrene/styrofoam) is made into compact disc jackets, eating utensils, take-out food containers, coffee cups, egg cartons, aspirin bottles, disposable plates, cups, meat trays, packing peanuts, and insulation. Except when cold, PS readily leaches toxins into foods. At room temperature, it is moderate, but heat increases leaching. Anything left in a takeout container in a hot car should be thrown out! PS blights landfills and public landscapes and causes suffering and death to animals and birds who eat it. It litters playgrounds, sidewalks, woods, streams, rivers, and even the oceans. For the environment, it should be worth consumers buying something else and bringing a ceramic cup to work.
#7 – Other. This category is the “catch-all” designation #7 (also for items having no number) and these are seldom collected. Recycling them is impossible and most contribute to landfills and become trash. These plastics should be avoided.
What Numbers are Safe
The rule of thumb for safe petroleum-based plastics includes numbers 1, 2, 4, 5. Numbers 3, 6, 7, or others should be avoided or thrown out. Only ceramic or glass containers should be used in microwave ovens, never plastic.
The Smart Plastics Guide by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, recommends plastic water bottles labeled 1 or 2 for one-use only. Bio-based plastic-substitute water bottles are now available and are much safer. Manufactured from corn-based plastic, polylactic acid or PLA is used in containers, bottles, and cutlery, and a foam laminate is made from potatoes, corn, rice or tapioca for food wraps, utensils, food and beverage containers.
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