Recycling Plastics ?

[tubs]

Where do you recycle plastics #3 to #5?

#1 & #2 -> Blue Box
#6 -> Designated disposal sites i.e. Environmental Days.


#3, #4, #5 -> ?

I have quite a few of the #3 to #5 from all the stuff I bought over time. It'd be nice to dispose of these properly rather than just dumping them in the garbage.

[jayk]

I was wondering the same thing.

Really stupid thing for labels for these plastics when they don't make recycling readily available for these plastics.

[hellodan]

Those numbers actually mean something? I've been throwing everything in the blue bin. If its plastic, i just chuck it in there. Crap.

[Spidey]

Must be different out there. Here we have huge green bins just marked plastics. One says cardboard and another says newspaper/flyers. And then glass and then metal.

if I had to sort plastics into different types, that would make me not want to recycle.

If the govt wants us to be "green" they have to make these thing easy for people.

[CPM440V]

Not all plastic is the same. The codes represent the different polymers or something:

http://www.recyclenow.org/r_plastics.html

I chuck tofu containers into the blue box all the time though. Hopefully, the sorters at the plant get pissed off and then kick up a stink and then they force the manufacturers to stick with #1 or #2.

[granite_grrl]

Is it different from town to town? I can't remember exactally what we can/can't recycle in St. Catharines, but we got the list online through the city. There should be a list out there if you go looking for it.

[markduess]

Hi everyone.. Granite grrl is correct. You can find out the proper plastics to put in your recycling box, by checking wth your recycling service provider. For example if you live in home, and the /city collects it check them. If you live in a condo, sometimes the service is managed by your condo corp's contractor, and of course your place iof business may have a different provider.

If you live in Toronto the source is found of of this page. http://www.toronto.ca/garbage/index.htm

Perhaps everyone can put their town/ city's source on here for easy reference.

Further to CPM440V's comment, the "number" is to indicate a type of plastic, but that's not the whole story. The same plastic can be formed by different process, ie blow moulding, injection moulding and this also plays with the ability to recycle the plastic. In the past, Toronto, specified #1 and #2 but went further with narrow mouthed containers which would indicate blow moulding ( I think). Less of the number's are stressed now because there is alot of confusion, and who really can make out those little symbols now.. (I'm getting old). More often is the case that we would specify the type like a bottle, or a tub.
Although you are correct in saying the plastics will be sorted, the "sorters" have little input into the Recycling process. Any residue plastic is sent to landfill, but essentially this residue has been trucked, handled and retrucked, hence increasing the environmental impact of the disposal of this plastic.

Proper source separation is always the key to cost effective recycling. Too much contamination of the recycling stream may warrant straight disposal into landfill. Of course, if everyone source separated properly, then there would be less work for the sorters. Sorry to any sorters reading this.

I have to finish this by asking everyone to think hard about purchasing the plastic item in the first place. Most of the food container plastic is not a recycled content container.. (I believe there is a regulation about this), and there may be little real choice in the purchase, for example Margarine but perhaps you can buy the product that you can recycle after its empty.

Aside from food containers, perhaps there are alternatively packaged item. Some people even return packaging to the place of purchase, as a message to the retailers, who do have the input into the packaging process. Ikea willingly takes back its cardboard and plastic packaging for recycling.

oh and of course, try to bring your own cloth or plastic bag instead of getting a brand new grocery bag everytime.

[Impossibles]

Hi everyone.. Granite grrl is correct. You can find out the proper plastics to put in your recycling box, by checking wth your recycling service provider. For example if you live in home, and the /city collects it check them. If you live in a condo, sometimes the service is managed by your condo corp's contractor, and of course your place iof business may have a different provider.

If you live in Toronto the source is found of of this page. http://www.toronto.ca/garbage/index.htm

Perhaps everyone can put their town/ city's source on here for easy reference.

Further to CPM440V's comment, the "number" is to indicate a type of plastic, but that's not the whole story. The same plastic can be formed by different process, ie blow moulding, injection moulding and this also plays with the ability to recycle the plastic. In the past, Toronto, specified #1 and #2 but went further with narrow mouthed containers which would indicate blow moulding ( I think). Less of the number's are stressed now because there is alot of confusion, and who really can make out those little symbols now.. (I'm getting old). More often is the case that we would specify the type like a bottle, or a tub.
Although you are correct in saying the plastics will be sorted, the "sorters" have little input into the Recycling process. Any residue plastic is sent to landfill, but essentially this residue has been trucked, handled and retrucked, hence increasing the environmental impact of the disposal of this plastic.

Proper source separation is always the key to cost effective recycling. Too much contamination of the recycling stream may warrant straight disposal into landfill. Of course, if everyone source separated properly, then there would be less work for the sorters. Sorry to any sorters reading this.

I have to finish this by asking everyone to think hard about purchasing the plastic item in the first place. Most of the food container plastic is not a recycled content container.. (I believe there is a regulation about this), and there may be little real choice in the purchase, for example Margarine but perhaps you can buy the product that you can recycle after its empty.

Aside from food containers, perhaps there are alternatively packaged item. Some people even return packaging to the place of purchase, as a message to the retailers, who do have the input into the packaging process. Ikea willingly takes back its cardboard and plastic packaging for recycling.

oh and of course, try to bring your own cloth or plastic bag instead of getting a brand new grocery bag everytime.

Best first post in the history of RFD!

Just to touch on the last couple points. I really hate how much plastic packaging is on products these days. It seems in the 90's, manufacturers shifted to less packaging, but now so many products are in huge plastic containers.

Small electronics used to just be in a cardboard box, now that cardboard box is encased in plastic.

[CSK'sMom]

Yep Impossibles, the over packaging drives me nuts these days. Not only have manufacturers taken to encasing everything in that dreaded "can't open for the life of me" plastic casing but lately it seems like there is printed instruction books in every language imaginable. I've taken to writing to the companies that have clearly overpackaged. Their usual standard response is that it's anti-theft measures which is pure BS as far as I am concerned...

[bobmans]

I absolutly hate this type of packaging. Difficult to get the product out without cutting a hand or finger trying to pull out the product after cutting the edges with sissors.

[auto-m8]

I work for a plastics company that can produce 8-12 million containers a day.
That's 2,920,000,000- 4,380,000,000 containers a year !!!!!!!!!

At an average weight of 30 grams each conservatively, just try to do the math on this one!!!!!!!!!!!!

If we don't recycle them , they will wind up in the dump or somewhere worse.

[jayk]

manufacturers should have to pay for the amount of packaging they put in, because we are the ones who have to pay in the end for their "low costs of production"

[Becks]

In Vancouver, we recycle #1,2,4, and 5 plastics. #3 is pvc and it's not cost efficient to recycle it, according to wikipedia. During the labour strike, I went to Encorp (recycling company) to recycle the plastics and metal, but they only took three types of plastics. It is really annoying when plastics have no number on them because that means they cannot be put in the city blue box.

[brunes]

I work for a plastics company that can produce 8-12 million containers a day.
That's 2,920,000,000- 4,380,000,000 containers a year !!!!!!!!!

At an average weight of 30 grams each conservatively, just try to do the math on this one!!!!!!!!!!!!

If we don't recycle them , they will wind up in the dump or somewhere worse.

It isn't as bad as people make it out to be. If these items were packaged in paper the weight would be around 10 times as much, which would end up burning more fossil fuel as the items were transported. And no, paper like that which would have to be used in this type of packaging (heavily treated) does not biodegrade well at all, especially in a landfill.

Buy items with reduced packaging as reasonable, recycle whenever you can. Other than those two things there isn't much you can do about the use of plastic - it is the best material for packaging that exists from a weight / strength / permeability standpoint - and you have package products in *something*.

[jayk]

In Vancouver, we recycle #1,2,4, and 5 plastics. #3 is pvc and it's not cost efficient to recycle it, according to wikipedia. During the labour strike, I went to Encorp (recycling company) to recycle the plastics and metal, but they only took three types of plastics. It is really annoying when plastics have no number on them because that means they cannot be put in the city blue box.

then we should tax all products that don't have a symbol or #3 plastics...#6 if there are no easily accessible facilities for recycling these.