Plastics
Recycling - A Crash Course
Why
can't I recycle all of my plastics?
- Several economic, geographic
and environmental questions need to be answered before new products are added
to the Blue Box.
How much of the product is there?
How many companies buy the product and where are they located?
Can the recycling
trucks hold the extra material?
- With the addition of
screw top
containers, you now have the potential to recycle more than 50%
of the plastic containers in your home. The plastics we collect have
secure long-term markets, are located within a reasonable distance and are
generated in sufficient quantities to make recycling these containers practical.
What
do those little numbers mean?
- Sometimes a recycling
triangle surrounding a number is stamped on containers. These symbols
are part of the Plastic Container Code System. It was created to help
make plastic recycling easier.
- The numbers ranging
from 1 to 7 identify the type of resin a particular jug or bottle is
made of. Sometimes, letters are also used to help further identify each
plastic.
The
chart below explains what the different symbols mean.
| Symbol |
Name
of Plastic |
Percentage
of All Plastics |
Examples |
Acceptable
In Blue Box? |
| Yes |
No |
 |
polyethylene
terephthalate |
20-30% |
soft drink and water
bottles |
 |
|
| cookie trays and frozen
food trays |
|
 |
 |
high density
polyethylene |
50-60% |
milk, juice, detergent
and bleach jugs, shampoo and conditioner bottles |
|
|
| ice cream and margarine
tubs, oil bottles |
| |
 |
polyvinyl chloride |
5-10% |
vegetable oil,
dish soap. |
| |
|
low density
polyethylene |
5-10% |
mustard bottles, cosmetic
bottles |
|
|
| shopping bags |
|
|
 |
polypropylene |
5-10% |
margarine tubs,
deli tubs and yogurt cups, bottle caps |
| |
 |
polystyrene |
5-10% |
foam coffee cups,
meat trays, egg cartons and take-out food containers |
|
|
 |
other plastics |
5-10% |
ketchup and barbecue
bottles |
|
|
Aren't
plastics the biggest part of my garbage?
NO!
- Plastics seem
to be a large portion of your waste stream for two reasons. First, most plastic
containers are bulky so they take up a lot of room. Second, if you recycle
your paper, plastics, glass and metal containers and compost your organic
material, the waste that is left seems to have a high plastic content.
- By
weight, plastics account for roughly 10% of the waste generated in the average
home. This is about the same as metal or glass containers. In comparison,
yard waste (grass clippings, leaves, etc) are 20% and paper products, accounts
for 36%.
|
