Goodastic — Plastic Resin Codes and Recycling | goodastic.com
Five ordered steps to run before you reach the cart, plus the failure mode that sends a whole truck to the landfill.
Step 1: find the number in the triangle. Turn the item over and locate the chasing-arrows symbol; the digit inside it names the resin. If the symbol is molded into the package rather than printed, it will still be there after rinsing.
Step 2: check what the local program accepts. Early United States curbside programs accepted only plastics with codes 1 and 2, and today's lists vary by municipality. The acceptance list is a commercial decision by the program, so the same code 5 item can be accepted in one city and refused in the next.
Step 3: rinse the item. Food residue lowers the value of a sorted bale; a quick rinse and a shake is sufficient. Residue on code 1 bottles is one of the reasons a load can be rejected at the sorter even when every item carries a valid digit.
On narrow screens, swipe or scroll the plate sideways.
Step 4: keep like resins together. Place code 1 with code 1 and code 2 with code 2 where the program asks for source separation. Mixed resins in one bag have to be separated downstream, and a bag of mixed codes with food residue often has no buyer.
Step 5: never assume the arrows mean recyclable. The triangle identifies the resin family; recyclability is a separate claim. The How2Recycle label, used by 525 brands in 2023, is the label that addresses recyclability directly, package by package.
The failure mode to avoid is wishcycling: putting an item in the cart in the hope that it will be recycled. Wishcycling that contaminates the load can push an entire collection truck to the landfill, because a bale of mixed resins with food residue has no buyer and the sorter has nowhere to send it.
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