Recycling codes are used to identify the materials out of which the item is made, to facilitate easier recycling process. The presence on an item of a recycling code, a chasing arrows logo, or a resin code, is not an automatic indicator that a material is recyclable; it is an explanation of what the item is made of. Codes have been developed for batteries, biomatter/organic material, glass, metals, paper, and plastics.[1] Various countries have adopted different codes. For example, the table below shows the polymer resin (plastic) codes. In the United States there are fewer, because ABS is placed with "others" in group 7.
A number of countries have a finer-grained system with more recycling codes. For example, China's polymer identification system has seven different classifications of plastic, five different symbols for post-consumer paths, and 140 identification codes.[2] The lack of a code system in some countries has encouraged those who fabricate their own plastic products, such as RepRap and other prosumer 3-D printer users, to adopt a voluntary recycling code based on the more comprehensive Chinese system.[3]
Symbol Code[4] Description Examples Plastics (see resin identification code[5][6])[4] [a] 1 PET(E) Polyethylene terephthalate Polyester fibers, soft drink bottles, food containers (also see plastic bottles) [a] 2 PEHD or HDPE High-density polyethylene Plastic milk containers, plastic bags, bottle caps, trash cans, oil cans, plastic lumber, toolboxes, supplement containers [a] 3 PVC Polyvinyl chloride Window frames, bottles for chemicals, flooring, plumbing pipes [a] 4 PELD or LDPE Low-density polyethylene Plastic bags, Ziploc bags, buckets, squeeze bottles, plastic tubes, chopping boards [a] 5 PP Polypropylene Flower pots, bumpers, car interior trim, industrial fibers, carry-out beverage cups, microwavable food containers, DVD keep cases [a] 6 PS Polystyrene Toys, video cassettes, ashtrays, trunks, beverage/food coolers, beer cups, wine and champagne cups, carry-out food containers, Styrofoam [a] 7 O (Other) All other plastics Polycarbonate (PC), polyamide (PA), styrene acrylonitrile (SAN), acrylic plastics/polyacrylonitrile (PAN), bioplastics ABS[citation needed] Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene Monitor/TV cases, coffee makers, cell phones, calculators, most computer plastic, Lego bricks, most FFF 3D printed parts that are not bioplastic such as PLA PA[citation needed] Polyamide (Nylon) Toothbrush bristles, socks, stockings, etc. Batteries (see also battery recycling) 8 Lead[citation needed] Lead–acid battery Car batteries 9 Alkaline Alkaline battery TV Remote batteries, flashlight batteries 10 NiCD Nickel–cadmium battery Older batteries 11 NiMH Nickel–metal hydride battery 12 Li Lithium battery Cell phone batteries, computer batteries, camera batteries 13 SO(Z) Silver-oxide battery 14 CZ Zinc–carbon battery Flashlight batteries Paper[4] 20 PAP Corrugated fiberboard (cardboard) Cardboard boxes 21 PAP Non-corrugated fiberboard (paperboard) Cereal and snack boxes 22 PAP Paper Newspaper, books, magazines, wrapping paper, wallpaper, paper bags, paper straws Metals 40 FE Steel Food cansThe Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China (SAC) has defined material codes for different types of plastics in the document GB 16288-2008. The numbers are consistent with RIC up to #6.[8]
Code Abbreviation Name 1 PET polyethylene terephthalate 2 HDPE polyethylene, high density 3 PVC poly(vinyl chloride) 4 LDPE polyethylene, low density 5 PP polypropylene 6 PS polystyrene 7 AB Acrylonitrile-butadiene plastic 8 ABAK Acrylonitrile-butadiene-acrylate plastic 9 ABS Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene plastic 10 ACS Acrylonitrile-chlorinated polyethylene-styrene 11 AEPDS Acrylonitrile-(ethylene-propylene-diene)-styrene plastic 12 AMMA Acrylonitrile-methyl-methacrylate plastic 13 ASA Acrylonitrile styrene acrylate plastic 14 CA cellulose acetate 15 CAB cellulose acetate butyrate 16 CAP cellulose acetate propionate 17 CEF cellulose formaldehyde 18 CF cellulose-formaldehyde resin 19 CMC carboxymethyl cellulose 20 CN cellulose nitrate 21 COC cycloolefin copolymer 22 CP cellulose propionate 23 CTA cellulose triacetate 24 E/P Ethylene-propylene plastic 25 EAA Ethylene-acrylic acid plastic 26 EBAK Ethylene-butyl acrylate plastic 27 EC ethyl cellulose 28 EEAK Ethylene-ethyl acrylate plastic 29 EMA Ethylene-methacrylic acid plastic 30 EP epoxide; epoxy resin or plastic 31 ETFE Ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene plastic 32 EVA Ethylene-vinyl acetate plastic 33 EVOH Ethylene-vinyl alcohol plastic 34 FEP perfluoro (ethylene-propylene) plastic 35 FF Furan-formaldehyde resin 36 LCP Liquid-crystal polymer 37 MABS methyl methacrylate-acrylnitrile-butadiene-styrene plastic 38 MBS methyl methacrylate-butadiene-styrene plastic 39 MC methyl cellulose 40 MF Melamine-formaldahyde resin 41 MP Melamine-phenol resin 42 MSAN α-methylstyrene-acrylonitrile plastic 43 PA polyamide 44 PAA poly(acrylic acid) 45 PAEK polyaryletherketone 46 PAI polyamidimide 47 PAK polyacrylate 48 PAN polyacrylonitrile 49 PAR polyarylate 50 PARA poly(aryl amide) 51 PB polybutene 52 PBAK poly(butyl acrylate) 53 PBAT poly(butylene adipate/terephthalate) 54 PBD 1,2-polybutadiene 55 PBN poly(butylene napthalate) 56 PBS polybuthylenesuccinate 57 PBT poly(butylene terephthalate) 58 PC polycarbonate 59 PCCE poly(cyclohexylene dimethylene cyclohexanedicarboxylate) 60 PCL polycaprolactone 61 PCT poly(cyclonhexylene dimethylene terephthalate) 62 PCTFE polychlorotrifluoroethylene 63 PDAP poly(diallyl phthalate) 64 PDCPD polydiclopentadiene 65 PEC polyester carbonate or poly(butylene succinate/carbonate) 66 PEC polyestercarbonate 67 PE-C polyethylene, chlorinated 68 PEEK polyetheretherketone 69 PEEST polyetherester 70 PEI polyetherimide 71 PEK polyetherketone 72 LLDPE polyethylene, linear low density 73 MDPE polyethylene, medium density 74 PEN poly(ethylene naphthalate) 75 PEOX poly(ethylene oxide) 76 PES poly(ethylene succinate) 77 PESTUR polyesterurethane 78 PESU polyethersulfone 79 UHMWPE polyethylene, ultra high molecular weight 80 PEUR polyetherurethane 81 VLDPE polyethylene, very low density 82 PF Phenol-formaldehyde resin 83 PFA Perfluoro alkoxyl alkane resin 84 PGA poly(glycolic acid) 85 PHA polyhydroxyalanoic or polyhydroxyalkanoates 86 PHB polyhydroxybutyric acid or polyhydroxybutyrate 87 PHBV poly-(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) 88 PI polyimide 89 PIB polyisobutylene 90 PIR polyisocyanurate 91 PK polyketone 92 PLA polylactic acid or poly lactide 93 PMI polymethacrylimide 94 PMMA poly(methyl methacrylate) 95 PMMI Poly-N-methylmethacrylimide 96 PMP poly-4-methylpenten-1 97 PMS Poly-α-methylstyrene 98 POM polyoxymethylene; polyacetal; polyformaldehyde 99 PPC carbon dioxide and propylene copolymer 100 PPDO Poly(p-dioxanone) 101 PPE poly(phenylene ether) 102 PP-E polypropylene, expandable 103 PP-HI polypropylene, high impact 104 PPOX poly(propylene oxide) 105 PPS poly(phenylene sulfide) 106 PPSU poly(phenylene sulfone) 107 EPS polystyrene, expandable 108 HIPS polystyrene, high impact 109 PSU polysulfone 110 PTFE poly tetrafluoroethylene 111 PTMAT poly(tetramethylene adipate/terephthalate) 112 PTT poly(trimethylene terephthalene) 113 PUR polyurethane 114 PVA poly(vinyl acetate) 115 PVOH poly(vinyl alcohol) 116 PVB poly(vinyl butyral) 117 PVC-C poly(vinyl chloride), chlorinated 118 PVC-U poly(vinyl chloride), unplasticized 119 PVDC poly(vinylidene chloride) 120 PVDF poly(vinylidene fluoride) 121 PVF poly(vinyl fluoride) 122 PVFM poly(vinyl formal) 123 PVK Poly-N-vinylcarbazole 124 PVP Poly-N-vinylpyrrolidine 125 SAN Styrene-acrylonitrile plastic 126 SB Styrene-butadiene plastic 127 SI silicone plastic 128 SMAH Styrene-maleic anyhydride plastic 129 SMS Styrene-α-methylstyrene plastic 130 UF Urea-formaldehyde resin 131 UP unsaturated polyester resin 132 VCE vinyl chloride-ethylene plastic 133 VCEMAK vinyl chloride-ethylene-methyle-acrylate plastic 134 VCEVAC vinyl chloride-ethylene-vinyl acrylate plastic 135 VCMAK vinyl chloride-methyl acrylate plastic 136 VCMMA vinyl chloride-methyl methacrylate plastic 137 VCOAK vinyl chloride-octyl acrylate plastic 138 VCVAC vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate plastic 139 VCVDC Vinylchloride-vynylidene chloride plastic 140 VE vinyl ester resinThe following recycling label projects are designed with the consumer in mind while SPI or Resin Identification Codes are designed to be recognized by waste sorting facilities. They provide an alternative that eliminates confusion as people often mistake any resin code to be recyclable, but this is not necessarily true. The recyclability of the numbers depends on the abilities of the facilities in the community.[9] Thus, they are not all automatically recyclable.
How2Recycle is a project that started in 2008.[10] The label provides information about the packaging material and clearly indicates whether it is recyclable, partially or totally. If it is not recyclable at all, it is shown by a diagonal line going through the recycling label.
OPRL is a not-for-profit organisation that provides simple, consistent 'recycle' & 'refill' labels for retailer & brand packaging in the UK market. The labels clearly state whether the packaging is recyclable or not, helping consumers recycle better, more often.[11]
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