Recycling plastics...........(like those 64oz cups from Circle K, 7-Eleven, etc.)...

[redgtxdi]

So I went to throw some plastic cups in the 'recyclables' trash can, but decided to flip 'em over & see what they say.

There are these cool transparent cups I get from Chevron's "Extra Mile" store that have a "5" in the recyclable triangle symbol and say "PP".

The Circle K version (almost the same except a little thinner & white plastics) has a "2" in the triangle and say HDPE.

Using http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code I was able to see what they are, but dunno whether I should *not* throw the '5' style in the recyclables trash can or not.

(The city recently sent everybody a letter saying to *not* throw plastic grocery bags in there.)

I guess they want our recyclables, but only at their convenience........

 

[Jeff7]

Recycling plastic is weird. One recycling center my parents use says that they take #1 and #2, but ONLY bottles, not plastic tubs - no motor oil bottles, margarine tubs, yogurt cups, plastic bags, or styrofoam. At the website, there's a link to click, supposedly to answer "Why?" this is so. The answer:
"The only widely recyclable plastics are the bottles that we collect. Recyclable plastic must be a bottle with a neck and the contents are usually pourable. Look on the bottom of plastic bottles for the recycling symbol with either a #1 (PET) or #2 (HDPE) inside the symbol."

So it doesn't really say why.

For the motor oil and margarine, I would assume that the oily residue is a problem when the plastic is being reprocessed. Plastic bags - grocery stores take plastic bags for recycling, I don't know why a recycling center wouldn't do the same. Styrofoam - it's probably just not economical to transport, as it's mostly air.
But yogurt cups? They're probably either polyethylene (#1 or #2) or more likely polypropylene (#5). Or even things like pill bottles, which may be #2 or #5, the recycling center doesn't want them. The 7-11 cups mentioned in the OP, or other food-industry cups may be made of polystyrene (#6), the same stuff that Styrofoam is made of.

I guess it's just not economical enough right now to transport certain plastics for recycling. But why some are not allowed (apparently) only due to their shape, I don't know.

 

[MrPickins]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
I guess it's just not economical enough right now to transport certain plastics for recycling. But why some are not allowed (apparently) only due to their shape, I don't know.

Recycling almost any plastic is an unprofitable venture, IIRC.