The COOL Guide to Plastics

I enjoy this conversation from The Graduate:

Mr. McGuire: I just wanna say one word to you. Just one word.
Ben Braddock: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Ben: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: “Plastics.”

In 1967, Benjamin Braddock didn’t know about plastics in general, let alone the diversity plastics offer. Today, plastics are used in every area of our lives. Have you ever noticed the numbers printed on plastic material and wondered what those numbers meant? Generally speaking, each code refers to the type of plastic the object is made of and what the object can be recycled for. Here are the properties of the seven plastic codes, provided by the American Plastics Council:

1 – Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE, or Polyester plastics). PETE plastics are used for drink bottles and condiment bottles and can be recycled into fiber, clothing, fleece wear and other food and drink containers.

2 – High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). HDPE plastics are used for many products, including juice and milk jugs, dish and laundry detergent bottles and grocery, trash and retail bags. HDPE can be recycled into liquid laundry detergent, shampoo and conditioner bottles, flower pots, floor titles and picnic tables.

3 – Vinyl (Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC). Vinyl plastics have many uses including medical tubing, pipes and floor tiles. They can be recycled into loose-leaf binders, mud flaps, traffic cones and garden hoses.

4 – Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE). LDPE can be used for bread and frozen food bags and squeezable bottles, such as those for ketchup and honey bottles. These can be recycled into furniture, lumber and trash cans, among other things.

5 – Polypropylene (PP). Polypropylene plastics are used for yogurt and margarine containers and medicine bottles. These items can be recycled into brooms, rakes, automobile battery cases and even traffic lights.

6 – Polystyrene (PS). Polystyrene plastics are used to make egg cartons, cups and cutlery. They can be recycled into license plate frames, foam packing and thermometers.

7 – Other. Plastics with this code are made from a combination of the other codes. You can see this code on some juice bottles and five-gallon reusable water jugs. They commonly are recycled into new bottles or plastic lumber.

Now that you know about the different types of plastics and how they can be recycled into other products, there is no excuse not to recycle! Look for a plastics recycling spot near you and do your part to turn your life full of plastics into a life full of recycled plastics.