How to Recycle Types of Plastic

Place plastics labeled with a "1" in a recycling container and place it curbside if your community has a curbside recycling program. The most common forms of type 1 plastics are soda and water bottles, food packaging and mouthwash bottles.

As an alternative to curbside pickup,in some states plastic soda and water bottles can be recycled for a $ 0.05 refund at a bottle/can recycling center or supermarkets with automated recycling centers.

Place plastics labeled with a "2" in a recycling container and place it curbside for pickup, or take them to a nearby recycling center. Common forms of type 2 plastics include shampoo bottles, milk jugs, butter or margarine containers, yogurt containers, and bleach and laundry detergent containers.

Collect plastic refuse labeled with a "3" and contact the nearest plastic lumber manufacturer to determine whether they can use what you're trying to get rid of.

Common forms of type 3 plastics include some types of detergent bottles, cooking oil bottles, clear food packaging, shower curtains and pipes. Recycling centers do not accept type "3" plastics. If there isn't a plastic lumber manufacturer near you that can use your type "3" plastics, you can reuse the plastic bottles and pipes for a different purpose.

Contact your local curbside community recycling program to see if they will accept type 4 plastics. These plastics commonly take the form of shopping bags, bread bags, squeezable bottles and home furnishings. Community recycling programs have traditionally not accepted type 4 plastics, though an increasing number of programs are beginning to. As an alternative, contact your local supermarket(s) to see if they accept returned plastic shopping bags for recycling.

Call your local curbside community recycling program to see if they will accept type 5 plastics. As with type 4 plastics, type 5 plastics have not traditionally been accepted by community curbside recycling programs, though an increasing number of programs are widening their scope. Common type 5 plastics include medicine bottles, ketchup bottles, caps, straws and sturdy containers. If your community recycling program doesn't accept type 5 plastics, an alternative is to simply reuse bottles and containers for different purposes.

Contact the manufacturers of type 6 and 7 plastic products to determine whether they accept returns of their materials for recycling. Curbside recycling programs and recycling centers will generally not accept these types of plastics, which most often take the form of Styrofoam, packing peanuts, insulation, CD cases and sunglasses. Some companies welcome the return of discarded plastic products manufactured by them, and may offer return information on their websites.