Why won recyclers take No. 1 or 2 unless its a bottle?
A. Even though plastic bottles and tubs might have the same number inside their recycling symbols, they are not really made of identical material. Bottles are produced through one kind of molding process and tubs through another, and these two processes require different plastic mixtures that melt at different temperatures. If these plastic containers are recycled together, the result is a mixture of material that has little value in a second round of manufacturing. If separated, they each have greater value. Unfortunately, even when plastic tubs are collected separately, they have relatively little value as a material to manufacturers. Try to buy things in containers that you can recycle in your area. If that is not possible, perhaps there is a way to reuse such containers around your home. Q. Why do plastics have a number on them if they can’t be recycled. A. The numbering system was designed so that plastics could be sorted according to a few broad categories. Once the system was ad
