Green As You Can Be

posted by jax1215 on Sep 10

Recycle your plastic.

If you are lucky enough to have a recycling center in your area, use it. Plastic is a wonderful product but it does not fit well into the environment, so we need to use it wisely or not at all.

Do you know the difference in the plastic codes put on the bottom of your containers? I didn’t for years. So I will share what I have learned.

The digits run from 1 to 7 and are surrounded by a triangle of arrows. It was designed in 1988 by The Society of the Plastics Industry. This symbol helps the recyclers do their jobs more efficiently.

1. PET(polyethylene terephthalate- This is the easiest.  This group includes soda and water bottles, and oven ready meal trays.  Once recycled they become fiberfill, other plastics or made into new bottles.

2. HDPE (This is for high density polyethylene.) Examples of this plastic is milk bottles, laundry soap, shampoo and motor oil. This is widely accepted at recycling centers. After recycling it is put to use making new toys, piping and lumber.

3.PVC. (POLYVINYL CHLORIDE) This plastic is used in plastic pipes, shower curtains, vinyl dashboards and medical tubing. Not accepted in most recycling centers.

4.LDPE  This is made of low density plastic. It includes wrapping items , grocery and sandwich bags. Not common in recycling.

5.PP (polypropylene) Like number 4, not popular in recycling. (items include containers for margarine and microwave meal trays)

6.PS  This is commonly referred to as styrofoam.  This includes cups, plates, cutlery , meat trays, packing peanuts, etc. This is widely accepted  and used to make cassette tapes and insulation.

7. All other This is the hardest to recycle and should be avoided by the consumer. If you are driven by the recycling bug enough, you can return them to the company that made them, at your cost. I would just not purchase any item that I did not really need that had this symbol.

Now you know the numbers, put them to use, If you can’t find a use for them yourself, then recycle them.

Remember, reuse, recycle and renew.

Jax