Plastic plays a leading role in our industrial society. It's ever-present - the most common material used to make products for our convenience - containers, appliances, plastic bags, etc. Have you ever pondered on, for a moment, the explanation of those symbols found in your plastic-made items?
Plastic recycling symbols stand for the categories of resin utilized to make the material. These representations are established following the international
Plastic Coding System, and are regularly depicted as a number (from 1 through 7) bounded by a triangle or a plain triangular loop (also known as the Mobius loop), with an acronym of the specific resin used, right underneath the loop.
Here are succinct explanations of all of the 7 recycling logos commonly used, at the moment:
1 - PET or PETE (Polyethylene Terephalate Ethylene)
Light weight, inexpensive, and easy to fabricate, PET is the most prevalent plastic resin in use today. PET is mostly used in beverage bottles, food receptacles, and peanut butter containers. It can be recycled into polar fleece, tote bags, plastic furniture, etc. The need for this material among recyclers is relatively strong, but until today, the recycling rate for this material has remained low at 20%.
2 - HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)
HDPE is stronger and susceptible to chemical corrosion, this plastic presents a fairly low danger of leaching chemicals when used as receptacle for food and beverage. It is largely used as containers for everyday household chemicals (shampoos, cleaners, etc.), cereal box liners, tubs for short shelf life food products like yogurt, etc. This can be reconstituted into floor tile, drainage, plastic lumber, recycling bins, etc.
3 - PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)
Polyvinyl Chloride has been known as a health risk - it has been noted to consistently leak chemicals when used as containers. PVC is commonly used for piping, window cleaner bottles, siding, etc. It has chlorine and will let off toxins if ignited. PVC should not be used in food preparation or food packaging. It can be reprocessed into decking, panels, flooring, etc.
4 - LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene )
Low Density Polyethylene is the material found in plastic bags, sheets, film packaging, etc. Durable but also elastic, it is ideal for packaging, insulation, and sealing. LDPE, through many curbside recycling programs, can be reused into trash can liners, shipping envelopes, and landscaping tiles.
5 - PP (Polypropylene)
PP is most suited for boiling liquid containers and is also used in bottle caps, battery cables, ketchup bottles, etc. PP can be remade into landscape borders, battery cables, trays, etc.
6 - PS (Polystyrene)
PS is the most common material for insulation and is used in foam products like expanded polystyrene (EPS), generically known as styrofoam. It is manufactured into disposable food containers, meat trays, aspirin bottles. PS contains benzene, a human carcinogen and should not be burned. It is recycled into insulation, light switch plates, water buoys, etc.
7 - OTHER (Polycarbonate)
Recycling symbol 7 - OTHER represents materials not matching with any of the other 6 resin categories. OTHER may also signify a hybrid resin made up of a mishmash of those materials. It is commonly found in baby milk bottles, flak jackets, camping bottles, certain food product bottles, etc. It can be reprocessed into plastic timber and other tailored crafts.
Not all number 7 plastics are polycarbonate, some are even compostable. Polycarbonate has become the axis of debate in recent years, as it is discovered to leak
BPA (bisphenol A), a hormonal disruptor that may severely alter child-bearing and fetal growth.
Plastic recycling symbols are created largely to aid the employees in recycling establishments in properly grouping materials for processing. A basic apprehension of these emblems can also serve us in determining if the plastic product were handling in our houses are risk-free for us and our loved ones.
Michael Arms submits essays to the Pacebutler Recycling and Environmental blog. Pacebutler Corporation based Edmond, Oklahoma is a US trading company that pays cash for cell phones, in an online transaction. If you just want to dispose of your old cell phones in an environmentally-friendly manner, you may also recycle cell phones through Pacebutler. 
