Plastic Recycling & How to Recycle Plastic

Plastics can be recycled by curb side recycling, supermarket recycling machines or drop-off bins. You will find a number between 1-7 on the bottom of plastic containers. This Agglomerator Machine is a triangle that indicates which type of plastic. If the container is recyclable, it should have a recycling symbol.

Nearly all counties have some sort of plastic recycling. Look in the yellow pages for a recycling center. Then call to learn which plastics they recycle, and where you can drop them off. For state-wide recycling information.

Recycling tips

· Sort your plastics by number. Mixing numbers can cause contamination during recycling.

· Types 1 and 2 consist of soda bottles, water bottles, milk bottles, and some plastic bags. If your city has this service, you can recycle curb side.

· Recycle plastic grocery bags by taking them back to the store.

· Spray-pumps and lids for bottles can be taken off with a spray-pumps. They are usually made from a different kind of plastic, unless marked otherwise.

· Find out if your municipality requires that you remove labels from plastic containers before recycling.

· The recycling industry is still in its infancy and therefore types 3, 5 and 7 cannot be recycled.

· Type 6 is Expanded Polystyrene foam packaging. To find out if the material can be recycled locally, call The Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers (410) 451-8340. You may also need to throw out other type 6 items like plastic silverware.

How can plastic be recycled?

Recycling begins with the collection of plastic bottles, which are then clumped together at the recycling center into bales. Bales can weigh up 1200 lbs. These bales are shipped to a reclaiming firm where they are broken up and shredded by a bale breaker. The flakes are then washed, dried and then melted. The liquid is then formed into beads, which can be used to make carpet, jacket fillings, and clothing. The plastic bottles are not recycled into new bottles.