A Crash Course in Resin and Recycling
We all think we know how to do it.
The blue bin. The recycle symbol. The #1 or #2 on the bottom of our milk carton. We feel pretty smart tossing these into our recycling bins.
But then we stumble upon a #5 or a #7 and all of a sudden we don't know what to do.
Fear not! Inflatable Packaging, Inc. is here to give you a crash course in recycling plastic.
First off, those numbers on the bottom of your shampoo and Chinese take-out containers? They are actually called Resin Identification Codes and there are 7 you should know about.
Meet the 7 Resin Identification Codes
This one is pretty common. You've probably have seen #1 on soft drink bottles, food jars, and some microwaveable trays. The official name for this type of plastic is Polyethylene Terephthalate - but you can call it PETE or PET.
Another popular plastic, the type used for shampoo bottles, cereal box liners, and most detergents and household cleaning products is High Density Polyethylene or HDPE.
If you've never seen this one before, let us introduce you to Polyvinyl Chloride also known as PVC or simply V. Oh, you've met? You must work in construction. That is where this plastic is most commonly used. However, you can also find this plastic hanging around your house in the form of shower curtains or lounging around yard in the form of lawn chairs. (If you got that pun, it was totally intended and if you didn't get that pun, what pun?)
This number belongs to the Low Density Polyethylene or LDPE family. A bunch of cool products are made with this plastic. But the coolest by far is Inflatable Packaging's Airlock™ Truck Dunnage bags. Used to brace and stabilize truckloads, our dunnage bags are light-weight, easy to handle, and sustainable. Goes without saying that this number is definitely one of our favorites!
Don't be ashamed if you've thrown these out. You just didn't know any better! #5 belongs to Polypropylene. It may also be referred to as PP. (But then again, so could a lot of other things...) This plastic is used to create those Chinese take-out containers as well as pill bottles and bottle caps.
Have you ever seen a #6? Let me answer that for you. Yes! Polystyrene or PS is what makes some plastic foodware like plates and cutlery. It's also the same stuff that makes CD cases and coat hangers. Take that to trivia night!
Aptly named Other, #7 is assigned to stuff made from a resin NOT listed above or a combination of more than one. You can find it on some larger reusable water jugs as well as certain citrus and ketchup bottles. It's not any worse than the other six, they couldn't think up a better name. Poor #7.
But what can I do with them?
Now, most people think you can only recycle #1 and #2. Wrong! While most municipalities ignorantly allow only #1 and #2 in your blue bin, the truth is that ALL numbers are recyclable given that they are clean. Thankfully, some communities are wising up and allowing #1-7 in a single-stream recycling program. However, for other towns and cities that haven't kept up with the cool kids, recycling #3-7 can be done by locating your nearest recycling center and bringing your recyclables there.
Inflatable Packaging cares about the carbon footprint that we leave on the environment. This is why all of our bags are reusable AND recyclable. For some people "sustainability" is just another buzzword. But for Inflatable Packaging, it's been our philosophy for over 20 years. Learn more about how Inflatable Packaging can reduce your company's carbon footprint, while saving you money.
