Life on The Leaf: What Type of Plastic can be Recycled?

Recycling program had been an alternative to reduce waste on this planet. There many daily used items can be recycle; such as paper, glass and plastic. But Do you know that NOT ALL types of plastic can actually be recycled?

MOST of the plastic products have a SPI resin identification coding system just like the one you could found at the bottom of a plastic bottle which is the first type; the one that with number 1 in the recycle symbol.

Aforementioned, not all type plastics can be recycle. According to http://www.plasticfreebottles.com and http://www.thedailygreen.com the most recyclable plastic is type 1 and 2. Type 5 plastic are hard to avoid buying, and mostly useless for recycling. Type 4 and 7 is less commonly recycled. The other types are generally not recycled (except perhaps in small test programs). You should place in your bin only those types of plastic listed by your local recycling agency!

Code	Name	Common Use	Recycle Rate
	PET Polyethylene Terephthalate	Plastic bottles (soft drink, single-use water bottles, sport drinks), food jars, cosmetic containers.	23%
	HDPE High density polyethylene	Grocery Bags, detergent bottles, milk and juice jugs.	27%
	PVC Polyvinyl chloride	Garden hose, cable sheathing, window frames, blister packs, blood bags, meat wrap.	< 1%
	LDPE Low density Polyethylene	Heavy duty bags, drycleaning bags, bread bags, squeezable bottles, plastic food wrap.	< 1%
	PP Polypropylene	Medicine bottles, cereal liners, packing tape, straws, potato chip bags.	3 %
	PS Polystyrene	CD and video cases, plastic cutlery, foam packaging, egg cartons.	< 1%
	Other PC Polycarbonate	Baby bottles, water cooler bottles, car parts	< 1%