Plastic Recycling

[Blondie]

I'm delighted to see we now have a facility for recycling plastic. The article in the newspaper and front page here clearly states only to recycle items with a 1 or 2 inside a triangle. Out of around a dozen different plastic bottles I've checked so far only 1 has a triangle but it doesnt even have a number in it!

Can anyone clarify?

[crashbandicoot1979]

If it says PET 1 or HDPE 2 then its recycable. Not sure about those with empty triangles though? PET 1 includes fizzy drink/water bottles and salad trays, HDPE 2 includes milk cartons, bleach/cleaner bottles and most shampoo bottles. Not sure if this helps??

[Kathy@watten]

i missed this in paper where can we have this plastics recycled locally and does it include the milk containers they are so bulky and it has been a shame we haven't had the facility to re use them???

[Blondie]

Thanks for that but its still not clear at all. For instance check the milk carton. There is nothing on it all that says it can be recycled! No letters, no triangles.

[Blondie]

If it says PET 1 or HDPE 2 then its recycable. Not sure about those with empty triangles though? PET 1 includes fizzy drink/water bottles and salad trays, HDPE 2 includes milk cartons, bleach/cleaner bottles and most shampoo bottles. Not sure if this helps??

Are you certain that bleach bottles can be recycled? Crikey I'm really confused now, lol.
Can you actually see that HDPE on any of the bottles you mention?

[Blondie]

i missed this in paper where can we have this plastics recycled locally and does it include the milk containers they are so bulky and it has been a shame we haven't had the facility to re use them???



http://www.caithness.org/community/environment/recyclingcentres.htm

[Kathy@watten]

Thanks for link , read it and will now start to assemble the bottles for a road trip! hopefully it won't be long before this service will be in all the towns and villages to save on hauling the bottles about!

[rupert]

Great news that we can now recycle plastic but I'll be making sure I only visit recycling centres on my way to somewhere else. Food for thought -would a special car journey of approx. 24 miles undo all the good of the recycling effort?

[Kathy@watten]

LOl I am too mean with diesel now and aware of the enviromental impact of extra non essential journeys so just incase you thought I was making a special trip to town to recycle...I won't be! will be the girl i the car full of milk bottles and small kids!

[Tilter]

Great news that we can now recycle plastic but I'll be making sure I only visit recycling centres on my way to somewhere else. Food for thought -would a special car journey of approx. 24 miles undo all the good of the recycling effort?

I'd be happy to combine recycling with you Rupert since I don't believe we're that far apart.

(In fact I've long been thinking of asking people in my road about the possibility of a combined Sunday paper run, as 10 or 16 miles for a paper is not on. I really must do that.)

[Bobinovich]

The following should help - it is type 1 & 2 which are currently recyclable. Sometimes the type (PET, HDPE, etc.) is within the triangle and the number close by. There's also a PETE type which I'm 99% certain can be classed the same as PET and is therefore recyclable.

http://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/images/polymer_codes.gif

Oh yes, sometimes the symbol is on the label, rather than the bottle itself. I personally remove lids, labels, etc so it's just the main bottle and nothing else which I collect, however if the sybmol/number is on the lid then it should be OK to recycle also.

[carasmam]

Does anyone know if we have to remove the labels or not? :D

[joxville]

There's also a PETE type which I'm 99% certain can be classed the same as PET and is therefore recyclable.

You are correct in that assumption Bob. The following may help everyone understand the diferent codes a bit more: http://www.chemheritage.org/EducationalServices/faces/poly/readings/rec.htm