Author Topic: PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT by KAIN (Read 211 times)

universe · « **on:** September 05, 2009, 05:39:59 PM »

A List of Current Resin-ID Codes

#1 – PET (or PETE) is used for soda, water, and some beer and liquor bottles, boil-in-bags, containers for mouthwash, medicine, drugs, peanut butter, salad dressing, vegetable oils, oven-safe food trays, and a variety of other consumer product and one-use beverage containers. The easiest plastic to sell back to specialty manufacturers, PET can become fiberfill for coats, sleeping bags, mattress pads, or life jackets, used to make bean bags, rope, car bumpers, tennis ball felt, combs, carpets, cassette tapes, boat sails, shopping bags, T-shirt fabric, or furniture covering, none of which can again be recycled once processed by a recycling facility.

#2 – HDPE (high-density polyethylene) is the opaque plastic used for milk jugs; juice bottles, bottles for bleach, detergent, household cleaners, shampoo, some trash and shopping bags, motor oil bottles, small tubs for butter and yogurt, and cereal box liners. A more stable plastic than PET, it is thought to be safe from carcinogens or hormone-disrupting chemicals. Used for the heavier jug-type containers for laundry detergent, cat litter, and bleach, it is also made into toys, piping, plastic lumber, and rope. Recycled HDPE is in fairly strong demand by manufacturers. Clear HDPE can be reused for new containers, but the colored is generally recycled for plastic lumber. Indestructible Tyvek mailing envelopes and white contamination suits are made from a form of HDPE, but are impossible to recycle.

#3 – PVC (polyvinyl chloride), where the environmental pollutant dioxin is released during manufacture, is the least recyclable plastic, commonly used in plumbing pipes, shower curtains, window cleaner and detergent bottles, wire jacketing, siding, windows, vinyl dashboards, outdoor furniture, jungle gyms, and bird feeders, but collecting it for recycling is not cost-effective because too few second-life products require it. It is also used in clear food packaging, cooking oil bottles, some baby bottle nipples, and some medical equipment like IV catheters, bags, and tubing, where the Surgeon General seems to feel that the potential exposures are low and may be outweighed by the longer storage capacity for blood and medicines.

PVC items are generally one-use and become trash when discarded, however caution indicates consumers should beware as it also releases toxins into the air as it ages and produces potentially fatal fumes if burned in an enclosed area like a house fire. It also needs additives and stabilizers to make it useable, such as lead for strength and plasticizers/softeners for flex-ibility. These toxic additives contribute to further pollution and human exposure as it breaks down.

PVC contains both estrogen-similar Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, as well as DEHA (di(2-ethylhexyl)adipate), a plasticizer which households are exposed to daily through food, water, air, and many consumer products. DEHA is linked to liver cancer, adverse effects on kidneys, spleen, bone formation, and body weight. PVC cling wrap has DEHA that leaches into oily foods on contact, increasing leaching when heated. Whether recycled or discarded, it is a very dangerous product that can one day come back to haunt us.

#4 – LDPE (low-density polyethylene) is flexible and is used for wrapping films, dry cleaning bags, tote bags and bags for sandwiches, grocery items, bread, and frozen food, as well as condiment squeeze bottles, clothing, furniture, and carpet. The bags may be recycled into new bags or plastic lumber such as Trex, but the transportation and recycling process has been found to use more energy than producing a virgin product. So, while is it recyclable, most LDPE ends up as trash in a landfill. For a long time it had to be thrown away, and is just beginning to be accepted through curbside recycling programs. Recycling centers like EDCO take it and many grocery stores accept plastic grocery bags back.

#5 – PP (polypropylene), which does not contain Bisphenol A, is used in yogurt and margarine tubs, condiment and syrup squeeze bottles, bottle caps, drinking straws, medicine bottles, and other food containers including Tupperware and new BPA-free baby bottles.

Few municipal recycling centers accept PP due to its very low rate of recyclability and it hasn’t enough second-life uses to justify its collection and transportation for recycling. It is a hard plastic than can accept a lot of heat, so it is often used for food containers. In locations where large companies or industries use PP, there can be enough volume for recycling it to be cost effective. Most curbside recyclers don’t yet accept it, but some recycling centers may take it in a mixed or miscellaneous bins.

#6 – PS (polystyrene or styrofoam) in solid form (solid PS) is made into compact disc jackets, eating utensils, and take-out food containers, as well as coffee cups, egg cartons, aspirin bottles, disposable plates, cups, cutlery and meat trays, packing peanuts, and insulation. Unless kept cold, PS readily leaches toxins into foods. Leaching at room temperature is moderate, but in heat, leaching increases. If you leave a takeout container of food in a hot car for a few hours, when you find it, throw it away!

PS is widely accepted because it can be reprocessed into many items including cassette tapes and rigid foam insulation. The cost of transporting used styrofoam products is greater than making it from virgin oil. There is no way to recycle it and even EDCO will not take it. It gets buried in landfills, dots public landscapes like a blight, and may appear as food to animals and birds who ingest it, incidentally or accidentally, with no warning that it will cause undue suffering and usually kill them. It can be seen on playgrounds and sidewalks, as well as on mountain trails, in dense woods, floating down streams and rivers, and far out at sea. For the environment, the animals, and yourself, buy something else. Bring a ceramic cup to work.

#7 – Other is the category that contains some relatively safe plastics, but is also designated for items crafted from polycarbonate (a hormone disruptor), combinations of plastics, or unique or uncommon plastic formulations. These are the hardest plastics to recycle. Usually imprinted with the catch-all designation #7 (or having no number), these plastics are seldom collected. Presently, recycling them is virtually impossible, along with most bottle caps and container lids. Few consumers will return items to the product manufacturers to avoid contributing to landfills and they become trash. Check for this number or items having no number before buying and avoid these plastics.

What is Safe and What Is Not

The rule of thumb for basic safety for petroleum-based plastics is that the safer recyclables sport the numbers 1, 2, 4, 5. Anything labeled with 3, 6, 7, or any other number is not safe and should be avoided or discarded, specifically any baby food containers or bottles, sippy cups, or baby items. Use only ceramic or glass containers in microwaves, and never microwave any plastics.

LAXCENTRAL · « **Reply #1 on:** September 05, 2009, 05:50:03 PM »

PVC items are generally one-use and become trash when discarded, however caution indicates consumers should beware as it also releases toxins into the air as it ages and produces potentially fatal fumes if burned in an enclosed area like a house fire. It also needs additives and stabilizers to make it useable, such as lead for strength and plasticizers/softeners for flex-ibility. These toxic additives contribute to further pollution and human exposure as it breaks down.

DOG I WORKED AT A WATER STORE...AND THE 5 GAL PVC BOTTLES ARE CHEAPER AND ARE MORE FREQUENTLY SOLD

SO DAMN... I DIDN KNOW THEY WERE DANGEROUS LIKE THAT