Recycling Code Table
| Code | Letters | Polymer | Typical items |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PET / PETE | Polyethylene terephthalate | Soda and water bottles, food containers, polyester fiber |
| 2 | HDPE / PEHD | High-density polyethylene | Milk jugs, detergent bottles, caps, trash cans, plastic lumber |
| 3 | PVC / V | Polyvinyl chloride | Window frames, plumbing pipes, chemical bottles, flooring, vinyl records |
| 4 | LDPE / PELD | Low-density polyethylene | Plastic bags, squeeze bottles, buckets, cutting boards |
| 5 | PP | Polypropylene | Microwavable tubs, flower pots, car trim, bottle caps |
| 6 | PS | Polystyrene | Foam cups and coolers, carry-out containers, toys |
| 7 | O | Other | Polycarbonate, polyamide, acrylics, bioplastics |
The number in the triangle identifies the resin, not the recyclability. The system was built in 1988 by the Society of the Plastics Industry as a voluntary code to help workers at materials-recovery facilities sort post-consumer plastics - consistent sorting preserves the value of the recycled material, and that was the entire design brief. Administration passed to ASTM International in 2008 (standard D7611), and the codes themselves have not changed since: seven numbers, one per major resin family.
Read the table as a spectrum of acceptance. Codes 1 (PET) and 2 (HDPE) are the workhorses - when US curbside programs began, those were the only two numbers accepted, and they remain the near-universal yes. Code 5 (PP) has grown into broad acceptance; 4 (LDPE) films and 6 (PS) foam are increasingly store-drop-off or trash; 3 (PVC) and the 7 (Other) catch-all are the problem children. The table gives each resin its signature products so an unlabeled bottle can be guessed - and the FAQs cover why the triangle on the bottom of a tub was never a promise.
How to use
- Sort by shape as much as by code: bottles, jugs and rigid tubs are what facilities actually want, while films, bags and foam share different (usually drop-off) streams regardless of their number.
- Check local acceptance rather than trusting the code: many programs now instruct residents by form - bottles, tubs, lids - instead of resin numbers, because acceptance is a local economic decision, not a property of the plastic.
- Empty, rinse and dry before binning: contamination - not the wrong resin - is the cheapest way to downgrade a whole batch, so a quick swill beats a perfect code read.
Frequently asked questions
Does the recycling triangle mean the plastic is recyclable?
No - and the system kept the confusion for decades. The resin identification code exists so sorting facilities can separate plastics by type; it was never a claim that your local program accepts that type. When US programs began, only codes 1 and 2 were accepted, and the list has grown unevenly since. The confusion got structural acknowledgment in 2013, when ASTM revised the marking from the chasing-arrows triangle (which resembles the universal recycling symbol) to a solid equilateral triangle. The uncomfortable context: the US recycled an estimated 8.5 percent of its plastic waste in 2018, so the gap between the symbol and reality is wide. Treat the code as an identity tag, and your municipality's list as the actual yes-or-no.
What are plastic codes 1 through 7, in one line each?
1 PET (polyethylene terephthalate) - soda bottles, water bottles, food containers, polyester fiber. 2 HDPE (high-density polyethylene) - milk jugs, detergent bottles, bottle caps, plastic lumber. 3 PVC or V (polyvinyl chloride) - window frames, plumbing pipes, chemical bottles, flooring, vinyl records. 4 LDPE (low-density polyethylene) - plastic bags, squeeze bottles, buckets, cutting boards. 5 PP (polypropylene) - microwavable containers, flower pots, car trim, bottle caps. 6 PS (polystyrene) - foam cups and coolers, carry-out containers, toys. 7 Other - everything else: polycarbonate, polyamide, acrylics, bioplastics. The quick field guide: clear rigid bottle = 1, cloudy jug = 2, flexible film = 4, anything microwavable-safe = 5, brittle foam = 6.
Why do some plastics show ABS or PA instead of a number?
Because the seven-code system covers the commodity resins; plenty of everyday engineering plastics sit outside it. ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) - the plastic of monitor cases, coffee makers, calculators, Lego bricks and most everyday 3D prints - carries no RIC number. Neither does PA (polyamide, the nylon family): toothbrush bristles, seatbelts, stockings, parachutes. These resins turn up in durable goods rather than packaging, which is exactly the stream the 1988 code was not built for. If a product has a number, it is packaging-grade commodity plastic; if it has only letters, it is telling you its trade name instead - and durability, not curbside recycling, is its life plan.
Who controls the recycling code system, and what changed?
Ownership moved once and the graphic moved once. The Society of the Plastics Industry introduced the Voluntary Plastic Container Coding System in 1988; ASTM International took over administration in 2008 and publishes it as standard D7611 (current revision D7611/D7611M). In 2013 ASTM changed the symbol itself: chasing arrows became a solid equilateral triangle, precisely because the arrows implied a recycling promise the code never made. Meanwhile a parallel consumer-facing system grew up: the How2Recycle label from the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (started 2008, on 525 brands by 2023), which says what to do with each package part instead of naming its resin. Bottom line: the number identifies the plastic; the label tells you the action; the two systems overlap but are not the same thing.