Types of plastic
Not all plastic is recyclable, some plastic products are difficult to recycle, depending on the materials used and its composition. To ensure a high recycling rate you need to know which plastics are recyclable. Plastic products that are not recycled are either incinerated (which produces carbon dioxide), put in landfills (where it takes hundreds of years to decompose) or end up in nature.
PET = Polyethylene Terephthalate
PET is the most commonly used type of plastic worldwide and mostly used for soft drink / water bottles or food packaging due to its strong ability to prevent oxygen from getting in and spoiling the product inside.
Used for
- Soft drink bottles
- Food packaging
Ease of recycling
It is easy to recycle and is used to make more RPET bottles. The “R” makes it easy to identify that the material includes recycled content.
In fact, PET bottles are the most widely recycled plastic in the world!
Next life
- Drinking bottles
- Tote bags
- Furniture
HDPE = High Density Polyethylene
HDPE is incredibly resistant and much stronger and thicker than PET due to its long unbranched polymer chains and thus used for a lot of different products.
Used for
- Plastic milk bottles
- Juice containers
- Shampoo and detergent bottles
- Grocery bags
- Recycling bins
- Lids
- Playground equipment
Ease of recycling
It is one of the easiest plastic polymers to recycle and thus accepted at most recycling centres in the world.
Next life
- Garden furniture
- Pipes
- Milk cartons
PVC = Polyvinyl Chloride
Polyvinyl chloride is the world’s third-most widely produced synthetic plastic polymer. In its rigid form, PVC is largely used in the building and construction industry to produce door and window profiles and pipes (drinking and wastewater). When mixed with other substances, It can be made softer and more flexible and applied to plumbing, wiring, and electrical cable insulation and flooring.
It used to be the second most widely used plastic resin in the world (after polyethylene), before the manufacture and disposal process of PVC has been declared as the cause of serious health risks and environmental pollution issues.
Used for
- Blister and cling wrap
- Detergent bottles
- Pipe and window fittings
- Thermal insulation
- Car parts
Ease of recycling
PVC is still hardly recyclable and thus rarely accepted by recycling programs. Therefore, it should be avoided whenever possible.
Next life
- More PVC products
LDPE = Low Density Polyethylene
Contrary to HDPE, LDPE has the simplest plastic polymer structure of all the plastics, giving it a thinner and more flexible design. This makes it easy and cheap to produce and process.
Used for
- Food and shopping bags (e.g. frozen food and bread bags)
- Coating for paper milk cartons and hot & cold beverages
- Food storage containers as well as container lids
- Squeezable bottles (e.g. for honey)
- Magazine wrapping
Ease of recycling
LDPE is quite difficult to be recycled but it can be recycled by special facilities.
Next life
- Bin liners
- Plastic furniture
- Floor tiles
PP = Polypropylene
Polypropylene is the second-most widely produced commodity plastic and its market is forecasted to grow even more in the following years. Hard and sturdy, it can withstand high temperatures.
Same as LDPE, PP is considered a safer plastic option for food and drink use. It’s a good material for baby milk bottle, as long as made of food-grade plastic and identified as “BPA-free.”
Used for
- Plastic straws
- Disposable cups
- Bottles caps
- Hot food containers
- Microwave meal trays
Ease of recycling
It is generally easy to recycle although recycling is limited due to difficulties in collection.
Next life
- Food containers
- Clothing fibres
- Speed humps
PS = Polystyrene
Polystyrene, commonly known as styrofoam, can be solid or foamed. It is very cheap and thus it can be found everywhere, often used to make single-use products such as coffee cups, plastic food boxes or plastic cutlery.
PS is also highly inflammable and dangerous as it can leach harmful chemicals, especially when heated (which often happens because it’s found in disposable take-out containers and often heated up in the microwave with the food inside).
As PS is also very light-weighted it is blown by the wind and floats on water, secondly it is regarded as not biodegradable. Therefore, from an environmental point it’s among the worst types of plastic.
Used for
- Coffee cups
- Takeaway boxes
- Plastic cutlery
- Protective packaging
Ease of recycling
It is very difficult to recycle, if it does get recycled it is often used to make more packaging. It isnot accepted in curbside collection recycling programs and is not separated and recycled where it is accepted.
Next life
- More packaging
Other
If plastic cannot be identified in the six types above-mentioned, then it will be included in group number 7. Plastics that may be layered or mixed with other types of plastics, such as bioplastics belongs also in group 7.
Polycarbonate (PC) is the most common plastic in this category, isn’t used as much in recent years due to it being associated with bisphenol A (BPA), a compound that is on the list of potential environmental hazardous chemicals. BPA does not decompose, meaning it will stay in the ground and eventually find its way into water bodies and the soil.
Used for
- Water bottles
- Ketchup containers
- Baby bottles
- Salad bags
- Crisp packets
- Lenses for sunglasses, sport glasses or similar
Ease of recycling
PC is very difficult to recycle. Usually, products made of this type of plastic is almost never recycled and thus goes into landfill.
Next life
- Goes to landfill
