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Recycling Codes
Name: Nieslanik
Status: student
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
I am a high school student studying recycling. I have noticed
different numbers on the bottom of some plastics. Our town will only recycle
those with a 1 or a 2. What is the difference between all these codes?
Replies:
The reason for the difference in codes is that there are different
types of plastic. The codes are usually placed inside the recycling symbol,
and the letter abbreviation for the type of plastic is usually placed
underneath the symbol. You will find 6 codes corresponding to the following
letter codes and types of plastic: 1: PETE, polyethyl tetraethylenei 2: HDPE,
high density polyethylene; 3: V, vinyl (PVC?) (this one I am not certain of);
4: LDPE, low density polyethylene; 5: PP, polypropylene; 6: PS, polystyrene
(found as plastic or foam). Your town is only equipped to recycle polyethylene
(the density does not matter) so they only accept codes 2 and 4. Each type of
plastic is a different chemical with different properties so they generally
are not combined during recycling. PETA (1) is a tough, somewhat bendable
plastic commonly found in 2 liter pop bottles. Polyethylene (2 ~ 4) is a good
general purpose plastic. HDPE (2) is suitable for milk jugs, nonpressurized
bottles and plastic cups. LDPE (4) is used to make "stretchy" type plastic for
plastic wrap and bags such as those from Jewel (crinkly K-Mart bags are HDPE).
(3) is a hard plastic that resists oils and petroleum distillates. Much of
automotive products and oil based cleansers require the use of V. HDPE will
eventually be attacked by certain chemicals that V will not. PP (5) is
generally harder than HDPE, but tends to be brittle. It is the material found
in sour cream and yogurt containers. PS is a plastic frequently used to make
disposable cups. It is .used either in its plastic form, or made into foam.
Polystyrene foam, a trademarked product, is a type of PS. Another reason your town
does not except anything but 2 and 4 plastic for recycling is the typical
contents of the containers. 2 and 4 are usually only accepted if they
contained food products. Most communities do not want HDPE bottles that
contained chemicals because the chemicals, if not completely washed out, may
still be present in the recycled product (or ruin the process). 3 plastic, for
example, is used in most household situations, to hold chemicals. By taking 2
and 4 plastic, the community gets a large percentage of the plastic suitable
for recycling. For more specific information on your particular community,
contact your local recycling center or a large recycling center such as the
Lyons branch of BFI (708-442-1110).
Eric Dallman
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Update: June 2012
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