An added complication to recycling plastic happens way at the beginning of the process, whilst we place our plastic in to the recycling bins and forget about it, trouble is before plastic can be recycled it needs to be sorted and separated in to its many forms, mixed type scrap plastic cannot be recycled together it must be recycled separately otherwise it will be of poor quality and not produce good enough results when re used again. Different plastics melt at different temperatures as such types such as High density polyethylene (HDPE) cannot be mixed with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) so if you intend on recycling plastic you need to know your milk bottles from your carrier bags.
Type 1 is polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) – Fizzy Drink Bottles / Oven Ready Meals
Type 2 is high-density polyethylene (HDPE) – Milk and Washing up Bottles
Type 3 is polyvinyl chloride (PVC) = Shampoo, Squash Bottles, Cling Film
Type 4 is low-density polyethylene (LDPE) – Carrier Bags & Bin Liners
Type 5 is polypropylene (PP) – Micro Meals & Margarine Tubs
Type 6 is polystyrene (PS) – Yoghurt Pots, Toys, Electronic Goods
Type 7 is other (usually PC or ABS) – Headlight Lenses, Safety Glasses, Melamine
