Goodastic — Plastic Resin Codes and Recycling | goodastic.com
The digit inside the triangle names the resin family. Here is the full table, the facts behind the symbol, and what the symbol does not promise.
The resin identification codes were introduced in 1988 by the Society of the Plastics Industry in the United States. The symbol is a triangle of chasing arrows with a digit from 1 to 7 inside, and its purpose is to let sorters and recyclers identify the plastic without destructive testing.
Since 2008 the codes have been administered by ASTM International under standard D7611. The standard fixes the digit-to-resin mapping: 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 covers other resins and multi-layer constructions.
On narrow screens, swipe or scroll the plate sideways.
Early United States curbside programs accepted only plastics with codes 1 and 2, polyethylene terephthalate and high-density polyethylene. Codes 3 through 7 entered later programs only where a buyer for the sorted material existed. This is the origin of the patchwork you see on municipal acceptance lists today.
What the symbol does not promise: it does not say the item is recyclable where you live, it does not say the item has been recycled before, and it does not say the item will be recycled again. The triangle answers what the plastic is. Recyclability is a separate question answered by local program lists and, on some packages, by the How2Recycle label, used by 525 brands in 2023.
Read the digit first, then the local list. The digit is set by the resin and is identical worldwide; the acceptance list is set by each program and changes with end markets. A code 5 cup is polypropylene in every city, and recyclable only in the cities that buy polypropylene flake.
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