Green Living
How to recycle plastics they won’t pick up at the curb
Published: December 19, 2011
Here’s a shocking statistic: Of the 30 million tons of plastic Americans tossed out in 2009, a mere 7% was recycled. The rest wound up clogging landfills, littering streets or sluicing down waterways into the ocean.
In response, many of us are avoiding single-use plastics and finding other ways to recycle them.
You can start by taking full advantage of curbside programs and municipal recycling centers. Then consider going the extra mile to recycle the plastics that they don’t accept.
LDPE (low-density polyethylene) plastic bags, wrappings
What starts as…
- Supermarket and produce bags
- Bags inside boxes
- Case wrap for snacks
- Wrap for packs of water bottles
- Wrap for paper products
Can become…
- New bags and packaging
- Composite lumber
- Backyard decks and fences
- Lawn and garden products
- Playground equipment
Where to recycle
Bring collected bags to designated drop-off bins at more than 12,000 locations nationwide: pharmacies (like Rite Aid, CVS), grocers (like Albertsons, Kroger, Publix, Stop & Shop, Trader Joe’s, Waldbaum’s), and national retailers (like Walmart, Barnes & Noble, Staples, Target, JC Penney).
PP (polypropylene) containers and lids
What starts as…
- Yogurt and similar containers
- Food containers (including Tupperware)
- Medicine bottles
- Threaded twist-top caps
- Flip-top caps on squeeze jars and bottles
Can become…
- Cutlery, cutting boards and colanders
- Plates and cups
- Toothbrushes and razors
- Plastic lumber
- Car battery cases.
Where to recycle
Plastics stamped with the #5 symbol can be dropped off at “Gimme 5” locations nationwide, including more than 230 Whole Foods markets, or mailed to the Gimme 5 redemption center (see preserveproducts.com/ recycling). PP caps and lids, even if not stamped #5, may be recycled at official Aveda retail stores.
PS (polystyrene) plastic take-out, Styrofoam
What starts as…
- Plastic take-out containers
- Styrofoam egg cartons and meat trays
- Molded Styrofoam for shipping
- Packing peanuts
- Disposable cups, plates and utensils
Can become…
- Molding
- Insulation
- Plastic lumber
- Flowerpots
- Other products
Where to recycle
Go to Earth911.com, type in #6 and your zip code, or return to Dart Container. For molded Styrofoam (except foodware) refer to pdf in epspackaging.org. Packing peanuts are reused by many shipping stores, including Mail Boxes Etc. and The UPS Store.
Hard-to-recycle waste
What starts as…
- Candy wrappers
- Potato chip bags
- Juice drink pouches
- Cookie packages
- Pens, tape dispensers and glue bottles
Can become…
- Fences and park benches
- Picture frames
- Waste bins
- Tote bags and backpacks
- Baby toys and more
Where to recycle
A company called Terracycle organizes programs to collect hard-to-recycle waste. Terracycle donates 2 cents or more per item to the charity or school of your choice.
More recycling resources
- To recycle packing peanuts
- Recycling information by zip code
- Mobilize your community
- Recycling agencies, by state
- Plastic bag recycling laws by state
- Environmental Protection Agency overview
Also In This Issue
- California puts on a carbon cap
- Making the Gulf of Mexico whole again
- What's nature worth?
- Valuing ecosystems
- INFOGRAPHIC Finding value in California wild lands
- A new world of energy
- The dilemma of Cuban crude oil
- GREEN LIVING How to recycle plastics they won’t pick up at the curb
- On energy's front lines
- PHOTOS Protecting the Maya forest
- WHERE WE STAND Regional leaders rise to climate change challenge
- FIELD NOTES clean air | Keystone pipeline | ozone delay | shale gas | celebrity moms | China |
- TALK BACK EDF economist Dr. Gernot Wagner, author of But Will the Planet Notice?, talked with our Facebook community.
4 Comments
The link in "For molded Styrofoam (except foodware) refer to pdf in epspackaging.org." does not work.
Hey Jim,
I fixed that link. It's working now.
Thanks for the heads up.
-Porter, EDF Web producer
Your information on the LDPE, #4 (low-density polyethylene) is not quite accurate. You show a shopping bag–the "tee shirt" style–in the LDPE category, when in fact, these bags are made from HDPE, #2 (high-density polyethylene). I know this is a minor detail in the information sheet about how to recycle the plastics not taken at curbside, but you information should be accurate.
Plastic supermarket bags are made from #4 plastic (low-density polyethylene) and #2 plastic (high-density polyethylene), and both can be recycled at designated drop-off bins in locations nationwide. We focused on plastics #4, 5, and 6 for this article because they are not collected in many curbside recycling programs and accessible recycling alternatives have been established for them.
Thanks for your interest,
Kathryn Cervino, EDF writer
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[...] has a terrific page on how to recycle what they don't pick up at the curb. Take a look at http://solutions.edf.org/2011/12/19/how-to-recycle-what-they-won%E2%80%99t-pick-up-at-the-curb/. As EDF points [...]