What Do Those Numbers On Plastic Mean?

Plastics are one of the most difficult items to recycle in terms of collection and sorting. There are hundreds of variations of plastic, they can be recycled, however not all plastics can be remade into the original product. Plastic drinks bottles (PET), for example, come back to life as plant pots or garden seats which cannot be recycled a second time.

There are 7 main classifications which are known as resin codes and these are found on most plastic items that can be recycled. But more often than not they are sent to landfill as the facilities to process them are unavailable. Most UK council areas offer doorstep recycling, but this is often limited to PET bottles and HDPE. Other plastics are just not feasible environmentally or financially.

So what do the resin codes mean;

1. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
   Used in water and soft drinks bottles
   
   
2. High-density Polyethylene (HDPE)
   Used in milk and water containers, and detergent bottles
   
   
3. Polyvinyl Chloride (flexible, pPVC)
   Used in soft plastic wrapping
   Polyvinyl Chloride (rigid, uPVC)
   Used in window frames and car components
   
   
4. Low-den-sity Polyethylene (LDPE)
   Used in shopping bags and bin liners
   
   
5. Polypropylene (PP)
   Used in rigid containers such as yoghurt pots
   
   
6. Polystyrene (PS)
   Used in insulated food containers
   
   
7. All Other Plastics
   Not always marked
   
   

The options for recycling and processing plastic waste is unavailable in most areas in the UK, resulting in under 9% of all plastics being recycled. Plastics are derived from energy resources such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas, so any material recovered is an energy savings. 90% of the manufacturing process energy needs to produce new plastics is saved by recycling. Those that are not recycled ultimately end in our landfills leaking additives such as phthalates into the water supply. If they are incinerated some plastics release chlorine into the atmosphere and leave heavy metals in the incineration ash. We should all try to reduce our plastic usage and search for environmentally sound packaging solutions to rival the current inadequate solutions.