Talk:Resin identification code

Various

Symbols don't work in either Opera or Netscape. The font codes (& #9843; etc, space inserted so code would show) are non-standard. Needs to be redone and standardized. -Vsmith 17:53, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)

• Don't work in IE either - just checked -Vsmith 21:10, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)
  • I have now coded them as images. Alan Liefting 03:42, 15 Dec 2004 (UTC)

The article on the plain chasing arrows symbol (not the plastics one) goes into detail about how it is public domain. Does anyone know if the plastics ones are public domain? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.99.34.238 (talk) 02:19, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

PVC

The following quote strikes me as editorialization: "(PVC is claimed to be recyclable, but it is in fact not a single material due to the wide variety of toxic additives for various applications; PVC is fundamentally toxic waste)." I do not believe PVC qualifies as toxic (or hazardous) waste such under US or any other country's law/regulatory regimes. It is banned from use in aerosol applications, and there is concern about leaching of phthalate platicizers from some PVC products. Assuming, arguendo, that this were proven, PVC would still not qualify as "toxic waste" under any reasonable/neutral use of the language. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wabernat (talk • contribs) 05:52, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, it's tree hugging hippie drama. I googled "pvc toxic waste" and the only thing I found were Greenpeace(I know right? whodathunkit?) article's that referred to it as "toxic waste" but not because PVC itself is toxic, but because the manufacturing process can be harmful to the environment according to the article. I also found that PVC is very recyclable. Removed unsourced sensationalized edit.--Papajohnin (talk) 15:03, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

I did some research. All plastics are recyclable. Different municipalities get to choose what they will recycle. This is usually motivated by cost. Not all PVC is formulated the same, and may include who knows what and still be considered PVC. Specifically, phthalates. The article even explains that the plastics industry is stopping using them as replacements are found. So, any municipality claiming they are hazardous and choosing to not recycle them should be challenged and the truth made public. And old hippies should learn that research and up-to-date information to keep the opinions they vocalize accurate will gain them a larger support base. It is valid to say "I know this to be true in certain cases, but I am busy protesting and afraid of computers anyway. Anyone know more information?"96.24.93.114 (talk) 18:15, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

Table grid

The table grid is not lining up properly, can someone repair it? Ace Frahm 21:30, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Seems to work fine here. Could you describe the issue as you experience it in more detail? –EdC 22:23, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Fixed. The problem affected only Internet Explorer. —Remember the dot ^(talk) 23:15, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

would it be possible to add a melting point column? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 148.8.132.16 (talk) 19:16, 20 March 2024 (UTC)

Photo

The photo, "Plastic_recycle.jpg", labeled as "sorted household plastic waiting to be hauled away for reprocessing", doesn't appear to be sorted to me. The description says that are sorted, but it looks to primarily be HDPE, but there is also a lot of PETE and I can quickly identify a few PP containers. If I correctly identified these types of plastic, then how could this be sorted? Chris01720 (talk) 08:05, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Recycling code legislation

I updated the information previously entered about proposed CA legislation to reflect that the bill had been significantly altered before passage, removing mention of recycling codes. I also put it under its own section, as it did not belong under the header "Availability of recycling facilities".

But is information about defeated legislation really germane on this page? I added the updated information to the page for Polylactic acid, which seems like it might be a better home for it. Sjb0926 (talk) 19:00, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

Merge Proposal

Should this page be merged with the Plastic recycling page, given that the Plastic identification code section essentially duplicates this information?

hashinculde (talk) 16:17, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

"I agree, merge this page with Plastic recycling. That larger page has more to it, but the this one has some content that the other could use."

Gerrygadget (talk) 00:56, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

"If all of the compounds listed on this page identify as plastic, Agree."

PatPeter (talk) 20:09, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

"I Agree, and I'll begin work on it as soon as I can."

MarcCMcC (talk) 01:34, 02 December 2009 (CST)

"Disagree. I am not clear what the code has to do specifically with recycling. Also, there seem to be different symbols and numbering systems (see below). If I want to learn about the plastic code I would not like to have to fish it out from an article about recycling. Ekem (talk) 17:41, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

Disagree: the concept is distinct, "What do those numbers related to recycling on plastic objects mean?" But the specific terminology applicable is not evident. So many people will search using terms that are close to the title or even already in a redirect, but do not want to wade through a whole article on the politics, history, and industry of plastics recycling when they already know specifically the information they seek. Also, I would say at this date that this merger proposal has staled out, so I'm removing the tag. ENeville (talk) 14:28, 18 April 2011 (UTC)

Warning & Suggestion: merging might lose the immediacy of information where one overlapping after merging might help. In our time this information about plastics is important as we attempt to discover and remove the toxins that are killing us and our children. As a relative newcomer to the internet I had some difficulty finding this information while I was searching through lead contaminated water/garden hoses. The term |plastics| followed by |kinds| might be helpful for some of us who are not as literate or savvy semantically. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Meticularius (talk • contribs) 16:20, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

♺ , ♼ , and ♽

Anyone know of the usage for these symbols? -PatPeter 20:05, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I added an explanation to recycling symbol. -- Beland (talk) 03:30, 6 June 2012 (UTC)

05

Please tell me if "05" (seems to be a European thing) is the same as #5? Need help recycling it. Anyone? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Oldbroad70 (talk • contribs) 02:17, 26 March 2010 (UTC)

I think so, yes. -- Beland (talk) 03:30, 6 June 2012 (UTC)

Image & symbol

Why different? If the purpose of the image is to be usable, it should use the more common font, as in the symbol. --Janke | Talk 08:15, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

Odd Recycling Code

I have a mixing cup which came with a hand blender. I think the brand Betty Crocker. On the bottom the recycling code is the usual three arrows in a triangle shape with the letters "AS" instead of a number. Anyone know what these stand for?70.79.55.114 (talk) 09:37, 3 July 2011 (UTC)BeeCier

I guess AS is likely to refer to Acrylonitrile Styrene, which I believe to be a different name for SAN or Styrene-acrylonitrile. Thus it'd either file as related to ABS (No. 9) or the polystyrene group (No. 6). COM Lampe (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 21:40, 11 July 2011 (UTC).

Code 08 with PP?

I have in my possession a measuring cup with the code 08 and the symbol PP (polypropelene). This combination doesn't exist in the table in the article. Should this indicate that the table isn't accurate? --Dead3y3 (talk) 09:02, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

Code number for ABS

The article says ABS has code number 9, but I could not verify it. Further a book named Handbook of Plastic Recycling by rapra technology (first published in 2002, ISBN:1-85957-325-8) gives it a code number of 7 itself. The text assigns 7 to PMMA, PC, Nylon 6 and, as discussed, ABS ···Vanischenu^「m/_Talk」 15:44, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

Sample pictures

Maybe add one sample picture for each category. Jidanni (talk) 15:40, 1 November 2016 (UTC)

Badly Titled obfuscated subject matter (needs expert discombobulation)

Had considerable trouble finding this excellent "Resin identification code" resource via search. The most obvious search terms, eg: "Plastic" & "Recycling" does not lead to this.
Also, many of the most common names for plastics are hard to find, eg: ABS, Nylon, Acrylic / Perspex, Polyester. Further, most seem to end up in #7 as a kind of unfathomable catchall. Acrylic ABS, Nylon... People deciding how to buy recyclables need to know why.
From a layman's perspective, What is a hard plastic part in a photocopier? An ink cartridge? A Palette Strap? A hardened car part? A soft plastic petrol hose? A BIC ballpoint pen? What is sellotape? Nylon rope, Fishing line. What is a see through plastic bag?
Hope some chemists can help as the recycling industry needs it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Redacted99 (talk • contribs) 22:27, 27 March 2018 (UTC)

From a material engineer's perspective: Anyone using the word "resin" for all plastics ever made must clearly be a politician, without any significant knowledge of scientific matters. That is the point where I stop trying to find any useful sense in a system like this.

Re: your "What is ..."-questions: Anyone remotely linked to the plastic material industry can answer these easily. Anyone outside needs to first cut through the confusion between scientific designations and brand names for plastic materials.

--BjKa (talk) 14:18, 17 January 2019 (UTC)