On the bottom of most plastic containers I’ve noticed a triangle-shaped symbol indicating that the container is recyclable. In the middle of this symbol is a number ranging from one to six or higher. I know these numbers have something to do with the classification of plastic products, but what is the difference between a one and two or six in terms of recycling? Finally, why do most recycling centers take type one or two containers but not three through six? Where are we supposed to take these other products so they can be recycled? I want to recycle, but it is hard to do with all this confusion. –J.R. Richards, Sterling, Virginia
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Things are more confused than you realize. The main problem is that the triangle symbol, more commonly known as the “chasing arrows” symbol, doesn’t indicate recyclability, contrary to wide belief. The number just indicates the type of plastic. As I’ve written before, the numbers range from one to seven; one through six are the most commonly used plastic resins, and seven is miscellaneous. It’s important to keep the types separate when recycling because they have different melting points and other characteristics, and if you throw them all into the pot together you wind up with unusable glop.
Some environmentalists think it’s deceptive to use the chasing-arrows recycling symbol on plastic packaging, because it fools people like you into thinking the product is likely to be recycled when the overwhelming probability is it won’t (with the exception of bottles). In 1993 and ’94 representatives of the National Recycling Coalition and the Society of the Plastics Industry attempted to work out an improved symbol that would address this objection. The effort went aground on–get this–the new symbol’s shape. The final proposal called for replacing the chasing arrows with an ordinary triangle and adding a letter to the numbers (e.g., 2B) to indicate various grades within each type of plastic as a sorting aid. SPI’s board approved the plan, but NRC’s refused, saying the triangle and the recycling symbol looked too much alike and suggesting a square or rectangle instead. SPI claimed a rectangle would increase industry retooling costs 400 percent–a triangle would let plastics companies modify existing molds, hammering the chasing arrows into a triangle with an engraving tool, whereas a rectangle would mean making new molds at great expense. In the absence of an agreement the old system will remain in place indefinitely, since 39 states now require it and only a united front on the part of recyclers and plastics companies would persuade state legislatures to enact a change.
