Comments on: 360: Recycling Plastic #5

By: Dara Roberts

Dara Roberts — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 20:36:09 +0000

Does anyone know where to recycle #5 plastic bags (Lego kits are packaged in #5)? Can I add them with the other #5 containers?

By: Kate Wells

Kate Wells — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 12:39:11 +0000

I have a question. I am looking to find out how I can recycle #5 feed bags that come from Purina Mills and Nutrena. Any help?

By: 100% Recycled Plastic Spa Baby Eco | Inhabitots

100% Recycled Plastic Spa Baby Eco | Inhabitots — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 12:01:51 +0000

[...] Baby Tub is free of BPA, phthalates, PVC and lead and is a type “5″ plastic which is commonly recycled. Spa Baby Eco tubs are recommended for use with newborns and infants up to 10 months of age. [...]

By: Kay Cole

Kay Cole — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:26:20 +0000

When I operated a recycling center in our small community I found that a couple of the vets in town were happy to take and reuse prescription pill bottles for their veterinary clients. Legally pharmacies cannot reuse them but vets apparently do not have such rigid restrictions. Worth a try for anyone with prescription pill bottles you’d like to see reused. Good Luck!

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:07:26 +0000

My husband and I re-use prescription pill bottles as containers to take our salad dressing to work. Most will keep a tight seal for 6 months or longer.

Also, I just started going to a local Aveda salon for my haircuts so I plan to take advantage of their cap recycling program, but even if you don’t frequent Aveda salons, you can go to the Aveda website to see where the closest salon is to you and bring your caps in for recycling. You just may stick around for a trim or to buy some products, which are much more earth-friendly than most beauty products.

By: Lorilee

Lorilee — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:19:08 +0000

It used to just kill me that perscription bottles and caps were not recyclable. I tried talking the pharmacy into taking them back and reuse. They claimed policy prevented this practice. They couldn’t tell me who manufactures the vials. (I’d have mailed them my stockpile) I kept saving them hoping to find enough uses. It dawned on me one day at the vet clinic, as the vet was rumaging the drawers for a vial to pour some pills into from her bulk container. Now they love to see me come in every so often with my bag of empty vials (my dog not so much…she’s the female version of Marley) as they have a never ending need for them. I also feel that if I, and others, can do this for my vet clinic then it helps them keep their supplies cost down that much more, and that savings gets passed on to us as clients.

By: Otto Bonn

Otto Bonn — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:23:28 +0000

I’ve been told although I have no confirmation that when you throw a water bottle with the cap on it into the recycle bin the sorters will remove the bottle with cap and dispose of it making your effort to recycle worthless. I’m hoping this is not true but regardless I’ve taught my family to always remove the cap. Now I see that there may be hope for that #5 cap so it doesn’t hit the landfill.

By: Kit Parks

Kit Parks — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:23:37 +0000

Simiya was asking about shopping bags…the common 99 cent non-woven polypropylene bags are #5, which while improving, is still not recycled by most municipalities. The typical plastic bag given by stores often gums up the recycling machines so many recyclers do not accept them (Unfortunately, some retailers “collect for recycling” these bags and then simply dump them in the trash so consumers will feel better). My Ecoroot mesh bag is resin code 2, so when it does eventually wear out, you can toss it in your recycle bin with no worries.

By: simiya house

simiya house — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:37:53 +0000

Hi Greens
This article make a lot of sense,I will teach my three year old daughter to separate
#5 from #2 and #1.
The greatest advantage of #5 plastic is that children can have fun collecting them. caps generally comes in assorted colour also can be use as a learning aid for toddler.

Amanda Wills beautiful article.* one question!
What plastic bags # (shopping bag)

Simiya