Plastic Recycling for the Consumer

According to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publication, Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2000,

"While overall recovery of plastics for recycling is relatively small, 1.4 million tons, or 5.6 percent of plastics generation in 1999, recovery of some plastic containers has reached higher levels. PET soft drink bottles were recovered at a rate of 40 percent in 1999. Recovery of HDPE milk and water bottles was estimated at about 32 percent in 1999. Significant recovery of plastics from lead-acid battery casings and from some other containers also was reported in 1999."

Apparently most households got into the spirit of recycling soda bottles and milk cartons and car batteries. To keep the momentum going, households can help improve the supply of postconsumer plastics by improving on their plastics recycling habits.

Most curbside recycling and local recycling centers in the United States accept plastics. However, because of local market conditions, they do not necessarily accept all types of plastics or the caps, etc. al. It's important to check with them to determine which materials you should save and how you should save them.

In the meantime, improving consumer plastics awareness represents a step in the right direction.

Looking closely at any plastic product reveals a recycling stamp (the three curved arrows) with a number (1-7) placed in the circle. The numbers represent different types of plastics based on the types of materials used to produce them.

A quick trip to the refrigerator or kitchen cabinets probably shows products with labels for each of the seven different plastics. Soda bottles and perhaps your peanut butter and jelly containers, for example, typically get marked with a number one and PETE or PET (which stands for polyethylene terephthalate) label.

Your milk jugs get marked with a number two and an HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) label.

Parents interested in an interesting rainy day activity for the kids, could have them gather and sort all the different types of plastics materials in the house.

Getting to the number seven, the last and traditional "other" category, could reveal some surprises since some favorite condiments such as ketchup, come packaged in these containers.

© 2002. Patricia A. Michaels