Recycling is weird. I think it works but it isn’t as effective as we’d like to think.
Something I learned was the numbers inside the recycling symbol. I’d like to ask for correction but from what I remember, a 1 or 2 inside the symbol means that you can recycle it in the recycling bin. A 3 or 4 means it has to go to a special recycling facility. And a 5 or higher means that it is not recyclable.
Recycling codes are used to identify the materials out of which the item is made, to facilitate easier recycling process. The presence on an item of a recycling code, a chasing arrows logo, or a resin code, is not an automatic indicator that a material is recyclable; it is an explanation of what the item is made of.
I think we probably both agree that resin codes are originally and principally manufacturing specs. I don’t know how many (lay) people correctly use them to guide how they should dispose of things. My biggest point though is that however resin codes were started, they have been taken over by a corporate desire to make things that aren’t recyclable look recyclable. They give a facade of recycl-ability, so that plastic keeps being produced. People are also encouraged/tricked to put garbage that bears look-alike recycle codes into their municipal recycling. As a result, recycled plastics are contaminated, become garbage, and more new plastics are generated.
Recycling is weird. I think it works but it isn’t as effective as we’d like to think.
Something I learned was the numbers inside the recycling symbol. I’d like to ask for correction but from what I remember, a 1 or 2 inside the symbol means that you can recycle it in the recycling bin. A 3 or 4 means it has to go to a special recycling facility. And a 5 or higher means that it is not recyclable.
Which plastics (if any) can actually be recycled varies by location. Check, don’t assume
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling_codes#Alternative_recycling_labels
Check this one for what I meant (and was apparently slightly mistaken)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code
I think we probably both agree that resin codes are originally and principally manufacturing specs. I don’t know how many (lay) people correctly use them to guide how they should dispose of things. My biggest point though is that however resin codes were started, they have been taken over by a corporate desire to make things that aren’t recyclable look recyclable. They give a facade of recycl-ability, so that plastic keeps being produced. People are also encouraged/tricked to put garbage that bears look-alike recycle codes into their municipal recycling. As a result, recycled plastics are contaminated, become garbage, and more new plastics are generated.
I concur