Which Plastics Can Be Recycled?

When it comes to recycling plastics, it can be confusing to keep track of what can and can’t be recycled. Just because something plastic has a recycling symbol with a number and some letters doesn’t necessarily mean it can be recycled. Different areas recycle different types of plastics. For example, Dakota County, Minnesota, where I am, recycles containers numbered 1, 2, and 5. To know what we can recycle, we need to understand what all these plastic recycling symbols mean. There are seven plastic recycling symbols, conveniently numbered 1 through 7.

One is for polyethylene terephthalate, or PETE for short. PETE is used to make things such as bottles for soft drinks and microwavable takeout food containers.

Two is for high density polyethylene, or HDPE. HDPE is used to make things such as milk jugs and containers for shampoo and household cleaners.

Three is for polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. PVC is used in things like garden hoses, cooking oil containers, and blister packs for medicine.

Four is for low density polyethylene, or LDPE. LDPE is used in bread bags, cling film, and those rings that go around packs of bottles.

Five is for polypropylene, or PP. PP is used to make straws, bottle caps, and medicine bottles.

Six is for polystyrene, or PS. PS is used to make styrofoam and disposable cups and plates.

Seven is for other materials, such as nylon and five gallon water jugs.

With all that being said, you might be wondering where EnduraMark markers fit into all this. EnduraMark markers and their refill cartridges are made of HDPE (#2), which is easy to recycle and is accepted in most recycling programs. Before recycling, though, you can reuse EnduraMark markers by refilling them many times. So if you’re trying to reduce waste, consider EnduraMark.