Plastic Container Recycle Codes

Polyethylene Terephthalate ( PET or PETE ): Smooth and clear plastic that can be semi-rigid to rigid depending on container wall thickness. Polyethylene Terephthalate is known as "PET", but the recycling code is PETE because PET is trademarked.

Common uses: Plastic bottles for soda, water, food, liquid soap and lotion.

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE): Translucent, milky white colored plastic. Flexible, but more rigid than LDPE.

Common uses: Plastic bottles for soda, water, food, liquid soap and lotion.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): Flexible to rigid plastic that is transparent to yellowish in its natural state. Polyvinyl Chloride is called PVC, but it is also commonly known as vinyl. So the recycling code for PVC just uses the letter V.

Common uses: Clear food and non food packaging, medical tubing and wire insulation.

Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE):  A very flexible, natural milky color, translucent plastic with high impact strength.

Common uses: Plastic bottles for honey, mustard and bread or food bags.

Polypropylene (PP): A rigid, solid, durable plastic. It is opaque with a grayish yellow color in natural form.

Common uses: Plastic containers for ketchup, yogurt, margarine and medicine.

Polystyrene (PS): A transparent, rigid and glass-like polymer.

Common uses: Packaging for CDs, aspirin bottles, cups, plates and disposable cutlery.

Other Plastics: The miscellaneous classification includes plastic that may contain multiple layers of different types of materials, like the above plastics. Some plastic that fall under this code are polycarbonate, Polytetraflouroethylene and Teflon.

Common uses: Multiple gallon water bottles, juice bottles, oven-baking bags and custom packaging.