Plastic products are very common in our daily lives, such as plastic cups, plastic tableware, etc. When purchasing or using these products, we can often see a triangle symbol printed on the bottom with a number or letter marked on it. What does this mean? It will be explained to you in detail below.
This triangular symbol, known as the recycling symbol, tells us what the plastic item is made of and indicates whether the material is recyclable. We can tell the materials used and recyclability of the product by looking at the numbers or letters on the bottom. Specifically:
No. 1: Polyethylene (PE). Generally used to make food packaging bags and plastic bottles. Recyclable.
No. 2: High-density polyethylene (HDPE). Generally used to make detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, baby bottles, etc. Recyclable.
No. 3: Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Generally used to make hangers, floors, toys, etc. It is not easy to recycle and easily releases harmful substances, which is harmful to the environment and human health.
No. 4: Low density polyethylene (LDPE). Generally used to make food bags, garbage bags, etc. Recyclable.
No. 5: Polypropylene (PP). Generally used to make ice cream boxes, soy sauce bottles, etc. Recyclable.
No. 6: Polystyrene (PS). Generally used to make foam lunch boxes, thermos cups, etc. It is not easy to recycle and easily releases harmful substances, which is harmful to the environment and human health.
No. 7: Other types of plastics, such as PC, ABS, PMMA, etc. Material usage and recyclability vary.
It should be noted that although these plastic materials can be recycled and reused, in actual operation, due to other ingredients added to many plastic products, not all bottom marks represent 100% recyclability. The specific situation It also depends on local recycling policies and processing capabilities.
In short, when purchasing or using plastic products such as plastic water cups, we should pay attention to the recycling symbols on the bottom of them, choose products made of recyclable materials, and at the same time, sort and recycle as much as possible after use to protect the environment.
Post time: Dec-18-2023