Green Daily

One of our readers recently posted a reply to Plastic Recycling by the Numbers. She'd heard that plastics labeled 3, 6 and 7 were not only toxic but bad for the environment if you recycled them. We've posted a couple of times on plastics and their numbers. Let's go over what we know.

If you throw your #3s and 4s and 5s into your recycling bin, and your city doesn't recycle them, you jeopardize the whole lot of plastics. If a group of plastics has too many types that can't be recycled as #1 and #2 can then there is a chance that plastic will be landfilled or shipped overseas. It's a matter of sorting. You'll also sabotage your own recycling efforts if you don't remove labels, caps and food matter. Your plastic water bottle may be a #1 but the cap is not. Throw it away.

That said, while some of these other plastics can release toxins like phthalates and Bisphenol A, that doesn't meanthey can't be recycled. Certain cities have recycling programs for the aforementioned numbers. In Davis, Calif. a free drop-off at the Waste Center recycles #3, 5, 6 and 7. At Stanford University the usual #1 and #2 can be recycled, but #3, 4, 5, 6, 7 are recyclable. That is if they are in bottle form. Not a bottle, they won't recycle it.

I want to emphasize that most of these plastics are recyclable, but each plastic requires a different process for recycling. Our recycling programs tend to be pretty basic, hence the relatively few plastics we can recycle. Check your local recycling program and those in your region for places that do accept the offending numbers.

And if you can't find them check out our "Five Ways" posts (typically filed under Tips) to learn how you might safely reuse your plastic containers.