Polyethylene terephthalate
Clear bottles and trays. One of the two resins accepted first in early United States curbside programs, and the most consistently collected code today.
The numbers on plastic
Every rigid plastic item carries a small triangle of arrows with a digit inside. That digit names the resin, not a promise: only 9% of about 3 billion tonnes of plastic waste has been recycled, and only about 1% more than once. This page decodes the codes, gives you a sorting procedure you can run at the bin, and shows where the plastic actually goes.
This is not a recycling service, a hauler directory, or a manufacturer's product page.
Scroll the strip sideways — 6 cards.
Clear bottles and trays. One of the two resins accepted first in early United States curbside programs, and the most consistently collected code today.
Milk jugs and detergent bottles. The second resin accepted first at the curb, with a steady commodity market for natural flake.
Yogurt cups and caps. Accepted by some programs and refused by others; the digit tells you the resin, not the outcome.
A residual category for multi-layer films, polycarbonate and bio-based blends. Rarely accepted curbside because no standard line separates it.
Used by 525 brands in 2023, this label states per package whether the component is recyclable, conditionally recyclable or not recyclable.
Putting an unverified item in the cart. When it contaminates the load, the whole truck can be routed to the landfill instead of the sorter.
Codes, procedures, rates
It names the resin type, nothing more.
The resin identification code is a number from 1 to 7 inside a triangle of chasing arrows. The Society of the Plastics Industry introduced the symbol in 1988 in the United States so that sorters and recyclers could tell polyethylene terephthalate from high-density polyethylene without cutting or burning a sample.
Since 2008 the codes have been administered by ASTM International under standard D7611. The digit maps to a resin family: 1 is polyethylene terephthalate, 2 is high-density polyethylene, 3 is polyvinyl chloride, 4 is low-density polyethylene, 5 is polypropylene, 6 is polystyrene, and 7 is a catch-all for everything else, including multi-layer and bio-based plastics.
The symbol does not say that the item is recyclable where you live. It says what the plastic is made of. A number 5 yogurt cup is polypropylene whether or not your hauler accepts polypropylene.
| Outcome or region | Share | Unit and basis |
|---|---|---|
| Recycled (once) | 9% | share of about 3 billion tonnes |
| Recycled more than once | about 1% | share of about 3 billion tonnes |
| Landfilled or in nature | 79% | share of about 3 billion tonnes |
| Incinerated | 12% | share of about 3 billion tonnes |
| Europe reuse | about 26% | regional reuse rate |
| United States, 2018 | 8.5% | national recycled share |
| Brands using How2Recycle | 525 | brands, 2023 |
Six entries covering the two codes accepted first, the two most contested codes, the label that does make a recyclability claim, and the failure mode that breaks collection.