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Do You Know What Plastic Recycling Symbols Mean?

plastic bottleThe Daily Green offers this handy guide on the various types of plastic:

Number 1 Plastics -- PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate)
  • Found In: Soft drinks, water and beer bottles; mouthwash bottles; peanut butter containers; salad dressing and vegetable oil containers; ovenable food trays.
  • Recycling: Pick up through most curbside recycling programs.
  • Recycled Into: Polar fleece, fiber, tote bags, furniture, carpet, paneling, straps, (occasionally) new containers
It poses low risk of leaching breakdown products. Recycling rates remain relatively low (around 20 percent), though the material is in high demand by remanufacturers.

Number 2 Plastics -- HDPE (high density polyethylene)
  • Found In: Milk jugs, juice bottles; bleach, detergent and household cleaner bottles; shampoo bottles; some trash and shopping bags; motor oil bottles; butter and yogurt tubs; cereal box liners
  • Recycling: Pick up through most curbside recycling programs, although some only allow those containers with necks.
  • Recycled Into: Laundry detergent bottles, oil bottles, pens, recycling containers, floor tile, drainage pipe, lumber, benches, doghouses, picnic tables, fencing
HDPE carries low risk of leaching and is readily recyclable into many goods.

Number 3 Plastics -- V (Vinyl) or PVC
  • Found In: Window cleaner and detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, cooking oil bottles, clear food packaging, wire jacketing, medical equipment, siding, windows, piping
  • Recycling: Rarely recycled; accepted by some plastic lumber makers.
  • Recycled Into: Decks, paneling, mudflaps, roadway gutters, flooring, cables, speed bumps, mats
PVC contains chlorine, so its manufacture can release highly dangerous dioxins. If you must cook with PVC, don‘t let the plastic touch food. Never burn PVC, because it releases toxins.

Number 4 Plastics -- LDPE (low density polyethylene)
  • Found In: Squeezable bottles; bread, frozen food, dry cleaning and shopping bags; tote bags; clothing; furniture; carpet
  • Recycling: LDPE is not often recycled through curbside programs, but some communities will accept it. Plastic shopping bags can be returned to many stores for recycling.
  • Recycled Into: Trash can liners and cans, compost bins, shipping envelopes, paneling, lumber, landscaping ties, floor tile
Historically, LDPE has not been accepted through most American curbside recycling programs, but more and more communities are starting to accept it.

Number 5 Plastics -- PP (polypropylene)
  • Found In: Some yogurt containers, syrup bottles, ketchup bottles, caps, straws, medicine bottles
  • Recycling: Number 5 plastics can be recycled through some curbside programs.
  • Recycled Into: Signal lights, battery cables, brooms, brushes, auto battery cases, ice scrapers, landscape borders, bicycle racks, rakes, bins, pallets, trays
Polypropylene has a high melting point, and so is often chosen for containers that must accept hot liquid. It is gradually becoming more accepted by recyclers.

Number 6 Plastics -- PS (polystyrene)
  • Found In: Disposable plates and cups, meat trays, egg cartons, carry-out containers, aspirin bottles, compact disc cases
  • Recycling: Number 6 plastics can be recycled through some curbside programs.
  • Recycled Into: Insulation, light switch plates, egg cartons, vents, rulers, foam packing, carry-out containers
Polystyrene can be made into rigid or foam products -- in the latter case it is popularly known as the trademark Styrofoam. Evidence suggests polystyrene can leach potential toxins into foods. The material was long on environmentalists‘ hit lists for dispersing widely across the landscape, and for being notoriously difficult to recycle.

Number 7 Plastics -- Miscellaneous
  • Found In: Three- and five-gallon water bottles, ‘bullet-proof‘ materials, sunglasses, DVDs, iPod and computer cases, signs and displays, certain food containers, nylon
  • Recycling: Number 7 plastics have traditionally not been recycled, though some curbside programs now take them.
  • Recycled Into: Plastic lumber, custom-made products
A wide variety of plastic resins that don‘t fit into the previous categories are lumped into number 7. A few are even made from plants (polyactide) and are compostable. Polycarbonate is number 7, and is the hard plastic that has parents worried these days, after studies have shown it can leach potential hormone disruptors.

Sources:

Dr. Mercola''s Comments Dr. Mercola's Comments:

If America were going to be characterized by any one material, it would have to be plastic. It’s in our food packaging, our clothing, our cars, our toys, our waterways, our streets, and, yes, it’s even in you.

By way of the food chain, and also drinking water and using plastic items in your everyday life, you are ingesting plastics every day, in the form of the following chemicals:
  • Cancer-causing PFOAs
  • PBDEs, which cause reproductive problems
  • Phthalates, another group of reproductive toxins
  • BPA, which disrupts your endocrine system by mimicking the female hormone estrogen
There is even a plastic “stew,” twice the size of Texas, that has formed in the Pacific Ocean. Scientists have dubbed the mass of floating plastic trash the “Eastern Garbage Patch,” and its volume is growing at an alarming pace. Even more shocking: when researchers tested the water of the Pacific Ocean, they found it contained six times as much plastic as plankton, by weight!

What is the result of mankind breathing, eating, drinking and absorbing all of this plastic? Obesity, declining fertility rates and other reproductive problems, cancer and more.

Reducing Your Use of Plastics

No matter what recycling symbol is on the bottom of your plastic water bottle or plate, I can confidently say that you’re better off using an inert, reusable material like glass or ceramic instead. This is because all plastic, particularly if you use it with hot beverages or foods, or if it’s scratched or worn out, can leach chemicals into your foods and drinks.

The worst of the plastics appear to be those that are marked with the recycling label No. 7, as these varieties may contain BPA.

And this is not even taking into account the environmental impacts of plastics, which kill more than 1 million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals, and even more fish in the North Pacific alone, every year.

Well, it may seem like plastics are an indispensable part of your life, but I think we all have room, for our own health and the health of our planet, to reduce our use, and here’s how:

1. Boycott plastic shopping bags. Use reusable canvas or cloth varieties instead. (This also applies to the plastic produce bags in the grocery store.)

2. Don’t buy bottled water. Filter your own using a reverse-osmosis filter, and put it in a glass bottle. If you’re concerned about it breaking, some companies now offer silicone sleeves that go on the outside to protect the bottle.

3. Avoid using plastic cups, utensils, dishware and food storage containers. This includes Nalgene bottles, which many mistakenly believe are safe.

4. Buy toys made of natural fabrics instead of plastic.

5. Look for products that use minimal packaging, or buy in bulk.

6. Give up plastic wrap (and never use it to cover your food while it’s heating).

7. Stop buying canned foods and drinks (the can linings contain plastic chemicals).

8. Parents, use cloth diapers instead of plastic ones.

9. Look for non-plastic home items, like cloth shower curtains and wooden spoons instead of plastic ones.


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Comment on This Article Community Comments (57)
 
 
Posted On Mar 31, 2008
Why don't we just go back to glass! Everone can pronounce it and it cleans up just fine. Or would it cause more global  warming from wasting all that sand?

 
Dekalb
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 6/2006
Dekalb  
Replied

qualitygeek
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 10/2007
qualitygeek  
 
Posted On Apr 01, 2008
Glass is great - until you drop it...

I have no crystal remaining from wedding gifts...actually, it was all broken before our 5th anniversary...


Beccadog
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 10/2007
Beccadog  
 
Posted On Apr 19, 2008

We, as a country, won't go back to glass BECAUSE we have the most funded Congress and Presidency that money can buy, paid for by the fossil fuel industry from which plastics, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and lots of other products are made.

Glass is heavier and breaks, which is why retailers prefer plastics.  However, given a choice I purchase products only in glass, even if it means shopping at health food stores or purchasing water in glass containers (I know my source).  

Water distillers and reverse osmosis purifiers uses polycarbonate plastic to store water that's been purified until the storage vessel has been emptied into your chosen glass container. Independent scientists have found that all polycarbonates leach into beverages and food. Hence, the reason I only buy Mountain Valley Spring Water in glass from Hot Springs, Arkansas.  However, that being said, I dropped a 5 gallon glass bottle and the glass cut my ankle. This is the reason many people prefer plastics.  But, my husband devised a system using simple physics, to remove up to 50% of the water into smaller containers, which makes it less likely to break the glass.

I have all my crystal and china and all of my mother's 24 piece place setting as well. When crystal and china is washed, a towel is first laid into the sink and then pieces are washed individually, and drip dried on another towel on the counter.  Pieces should be carried individually so that they won't be dropped.      



DLARAH
Novice User Novice User Joined On 3/2008
DLARAH  
 
Posted On Apr 20, 2008

Hi. I had purchased my dishes back in the '70s made of Correl, a type of unbreakable glass. I have yet to break a single piece! It is GREAT! So, y'all see, there is a way to 'have your cake and eat it too'.



A Storm
Novice User Novice User Joined On 6/2006
A Storm  
 
Posted On Apr 30, 2008

DLARAH,

I too like my Corell 'china' because it lasts and lasts.  But it will break==dropped mine on the cement basement floor.  I bought it because my friend had hers forever......

I switched a few years ago to glass storage containers - readily available brand.  They will stack and you can put the lids in the bottom when stacking to cut down on the clinking.  I feel so much better about my food.


 
 
 
Posted On Apr 19, 2008

When I was a kid, everything came in a glass container, taking in glass pop bottles for a 2 cent deposit return and buying candy. (yes, I'm old). Anyway, plastic has become my enemy, since it does nothing good for people or the environment. Since I'm retired and have the time, as a caring consumer I will be e- mailing companies telling them of the dangers of plastic. I take my own bags everywhere and told my supermarket of the dangers of plastic. The manager agreed with me and is now offering cloth bags. The consumer has a lot of power, companies need us to prosper. If everyone would protest the use of plastic, I think we could make changes, to better our health and environment. There's power in numbers. What really bothers me is that why are things allowed to get out of control before something is done about it. I thought we pay people to forsee the consequences of introducing new products to the public. As usual, it's all about greed.


 
catuskan60
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 6/2006
catuskan60  
Replied

sobber
Novice User Novice User Joined On 10/2007
sobber  
 
Posted On Apr 21, 2008

no it is not about greed it is about depopulation of homo sapient see this

www.youtube.com/watch


 
 
 
Posted On Apr 19, 2008

We live and work on our farm in the heat so finding an alternative to plastic water bottles was a necessity. We're fortunate to get milk from a Mennonite dairy in VA which comes in glass milk bottles, 1/2 gallon & quarts. We just re-use these for our water bottles, keep them in a canvas bag under a tree for cool water or stick them in the creek for very cold water (natural refrigeration). The glass bottles are thick and made for tough handling. I also find these in antique stores for a few dollars each, although they don't have the snap on lids that ours come with.

We are also adjusting to life without a microwave, since ordering the Aroma oven from Dr. Mercola. This was a bigger change than getting along without plastic doo-dads in our kitchen. We purchased glass containers to put leftovers in and can now just set them into the oven for re-heating. It takes longer than a microwave but we'd rather take longer heating our food than shortening our live and ending up with 3 eyeballs from the microwave!


 
Replied

Amy Gdala
Novice User Novice User Joined On 6/2006
Amy Gdala  
 
Posted On Apr 20, 2008

BlackberryBlossomFarmer, We're in VA, too.  Can you tell me where the Monnonite dairy is located?  I'm hoping it's somewhere close to us!  Thanks!


 
 
 
Posted On Apr 20, 2008

Real change will be realized when the majority accept responsiblity for being good stewards. Here are a  couple of slogans I hope will assist with this effort.

Use it up.

Wear it out.

Make it do.

Do without.

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle (in that order)

That is all. Carry on.


 
jabdip
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 6/2006
jabdip  
 
 
 
Posted On Apr 01, 2008
It is best to avoid plastic water bottles. Try stainless steel bottles. They are safe and lightweight. Try checking http://www.kleankanteen.com/. Whatever brand you buy make sure it does not have a plastic lining.

 
sailaa
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 6/2006
sailaa  
Replied

miragemama
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 6/2007
miragemama  
 
Posted On Apr 01, 2008
Ditto Sailaa's comment.  I have these canteens and they are great.  The only thing is I seem to dent mine from dropping them. 


Senor Gato
Novice User Novice User Joined On 3/2008
Senor Gato  
 
Posted On Apr 01, 2008
I'm up for a canteen and took a brief peep at that site. Where does one get the water? I've been buying spring water in plastic jugs at the supermarket. My tap water tastes like toxic waste.


Duanne
Novice User Novice User Joined On 3/2008
Duanne  
 
Posted On Apr 19, 2008

Very good site I am definetly going to write this one down.

Thank you very much...

May God bless your day



merrymg
Novice User Novice User Joined On 6/2007
merrymg  
 
Posted On Apr 19, 2008

Some stainless steel has heavy metals.. I am ill from heavy metals. I could not understand why I came out of remission and had my hair retested... there it was one of the metals that is used in the production of stainless steel.. It took a while to trace it down.. I no longer cook with stainless but have chosen glasswear, iron and iron porcelain coated pots..

Another bout of chelation shold rid me of heavy metals.

I think that stainles pots made in China were the culprit.. Name brand expensive name brand..



pinkskittles
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 10/2006
pinkskittles  
 
Posted On Apr 19, 2008

I personally don't like Kleen Kanteen. I tried them as an alternative to using Voss bottles (glass) and I found that the water smelled and tasted like metal. "Non leeching" is a lie for this one. I'm very sensitive to tastes and smells and always listen to my body, which has come to the conclusion of <b>NO stainless steel water bottles</b>. I drink out of glass only.


 
 
 
 
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