{"id":1976,"date":"2023-03-16T16:37:22","date_gmt":"2023-03-16T14:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/?p=1976"},"modified":"2024-09-02T10:01:28","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T08:01:28","slug":"identification-and-code-of-plastics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/blog\/identification-and-code-of-plastics","title":{"rendered":"Identification and code of plastics"},"content":{"rendered":" \n    <div class=\"c-post--header\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Codigos-plasticos.png);\">\n        <a href=\"\" class=\"c-back-action\">\n            Go back        <\/a>\n        <h1>Identification and code of plastics<\/h1>\n\t\t<p class=\"c-post--author\">\n\t\t\tAuthor:\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/author\/scrapad-admin\/\">ScrapAd<\/a>\n\t\t<\/p>\n        <div class=\"c-post--meta\">\n            <p>16\/03\/2023<\/p>\n            <div class=\"c-post--actions\">\n                <a onclick=\"window.print()\" class=\"c-article__action\">\n                    <i class=\"large material-icons icon\">print<\/i>\n                <\/a>\n                <a data-clipboard-text=\"\" class=\"c-article__action\">\n                    <i class=\"large material-icons icon\">content_copy<\/i>\n                <\/a>\n                <span class=\"c-article__action share__trigger\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"large material-icons icon\">share<\/i>\n\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"share__displays\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/scrapad-blocks\/assets\/icons\/share\/facebook.svg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=&amp;url=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/scrapad-blocks\/assets\/icons\/share\/twitter.svg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=&amp;title=&amp;summary=&amp;source=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/scrapad-blocks\/assets\/icons\/share\/linkedin.svg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"mailto:info@scrapad.com?&amp;cc=&amp;bcc=&amp;subject=&amp;body=\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttarget=\"_blank\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/scrapad-blocks\/assets\/icons\/share\/email.svg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n\n \n    <section class=\"c-container \" style=\" background-color: #FBFBFB; background-size: cover; --xsPadding: 40px 25px 40px 25px; --smPadding: 40px 25px 40px 25px; --mdPadding: 80px 100px 80px 100px; --lgPadding: 80px 100px 80px 100px; --xlPadding: 80px 100px 80px 100px; --xxlPadding: 80px 200px 80px 200px;  \">\n        \n<div class=\"wp-block-scrapad-blocks-container c-post\">\n<div class=\"c-article__desc wp-block-scrapad-blocks-article-desc\">\n<p>The existence of many types of plastics and polymers on the market and their recyclability led to the creation of&nbsp;<strong>identification codes<\/strong>, the symbol for which dates back to 1970. This first identification document was created by a group of students participating in a Container Corporation of America competition. The&nbsp;<strong>symbol reflects the recycling process<\/strong>: from the collection of the material, to the recycling process, to the purchase of the recycled products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Plastic identification codes<\/strong>&nbsp;as such, however, came years later from the American Society of the Plastics Industry.&nbsp;<strong>They originated in 1988<\/strong>&nbsp;with the aim of facilitating the identification of each type of plastic and to be able to separate them properly, making a correct management of these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For this classification of plastics,&nbsp;<strong>a triangle with three successive arrows<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>surrounding a number from 1 to 7<\/strong>&nbsp;is used as a&nbsp;<strong>symbol<\/strong>. This triangle is known as the M\u00f6bius triangle, the universal symbol of recycling, and identifies the material from which the product is made, as well as the possibility of being recycled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Classification of plastics codes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Number 1: PET (Polyethylene terephthalate)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>PET\u00a0is one of the most widely used plastics in food packaging, thanks to properties such as its\u00a0<strong>low production cost, its light weight<\/strong>\u00a0and, above all,\u00a0<strong>its great recyclability<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Number 2: HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This identification code is\u00a0<strong>used to classify plastics that are resistant to chemicals, not very flexible, but easy to manufacture and handle<\/strong>, such as\u00a0HDPE plastic. The most common applications for this plastic are grocery bags, packaging for cleaning products, personal care products and others. As soon as it is recycled, it can be used again for the same purpose it had at the beginning of its useful life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Number 3: PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This plastic identification number corresponds to materials that are\u00a0<strong>characterised by chlorine in their composition<\/strong>, which makes them difficult to recycle, such as\u00a0PVC. They are also characterised by their high acid resistance and their hardness, which makes them ideal for tubes, pipes, medical equipment and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Number 4: LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Low\u00a0Density Polyethylene\u00a0or LDPE is identified by the number 4, and is used to designate those\u00a0<strong>plastics that are very flexible and have great sealing properties<\/strong>, which is why it is usually found in the food industry. It is also commonly found in the form of bags, laboratory containers or frozen food. After recycling, it can be reused for containers, litter bins, panels and pipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Number 5: PP (Polypropylene)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Polypropylene\u00a0is the\u00a0<strong>ideal material for microwaveable packaging<\/strong>, as its main characteristics are hardness, vapour barrier and heat resistance. This makes it perfect for food packaging that is sterilised. It is also commonly found in sauce pots, lids and medical and veterinary packaging. Once it has passed the recycling process, it is generally used to make brushes, trays or illuminated signs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Number 6: PS (Polystyrene)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>PS plastic\u00a0or polystyrene is a plastic that is mainly used in food trays, in the dairy industry, for household appliance packaging and also to make cups for hot drinks. It is also a\u00a0<strong>material that can be recycled an infinite number of times<\/strong>, giving it a very long life span. However, it does have one negative quality, and that is that at\u00a0<strong>temperatures above 80\u00b0C it releases styrenes<\/strong>. Styrene is\u00a0<strong>considered carcinogenic<\/strong>\u00a0by the Environmental Protection Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Number 7: Mixed plastics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This code includes a\u00a0<strong>wide range of plastics that are very difficult to recycle<\/strong>. Most articles classified under this number include several different types of plastics in their composition. Typically,\u00a0mixed plastics\u00a0are found in sunglasses, but also in some water bottles or food packaging.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n    \n\n    <div class=\"c-container c-post--related\" style=\"background-color: #F7F5F2; --xsPadding: 40px 25px 40px 25px; --smPadding: 40px 25px 40px 25px; --mdPadding: 40px 25px 40px 25px; --lgPadding: 72px 100px 72px 100px; --xlPadding: 72px 100px 72px 100px; --xxlPadding: 72px 100px 72px 100px;\">\n        <div class=\"container\">\n            <h3 class=\"c-article__side__heading\">Other posts that may interest you\u2026<\/h3>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"scrapad-blocks-related glide\" data-autoplay=\"4000\" data-views-desktop=\"3\" data-views-tablet=\"2\" data-views-mobile=\"1\" data-mode=\"slider\">  \n            <div class=\"container glide__track\" data-glide-el=\"track\">\n                <div class=\"row slider-mobile glide__slides\">\n                                                                         \n                            <div class=\"col-12 col-lg-6 glide__slide\">\n                                    <div class=\"c-blog__item\">\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/scrapad.com\/en\/blog\/innovation-in-metal-recycling-artificial-intelligence-robotics-and-emerging-technologies\/\" class=\"c-blog__item--inner\">\n            <div class=\"c-blog__item__header\">\n                <div\n                    class=\"c-blog__item__image\"\n                    style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/scrapad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/02_58J0671_2-0d3c326ba40c12cc.jpeg;\"\n                ><\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                <div class=\"c-blog__item_body\">\n                    <h4 class=\"c-blog__item__title\">Innovation in metal recycling: Artificial intelligence, robotics, and emerging technologies<\/h4>\n                    <div class=\"c-blog__item__meta\">\n                        <span class=\"c-blog__item__date\">18\/03\/2025<\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n                <div class=\"c-blog__item__desc\">\n                    <p>In the UK, waste management is regulated by a number of pieces of legislation that set out specific obligations for waste brokers and dealers. 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