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The Resin Identification Codes<\/em>, or RIC for short, are a series of designations given to the types of plastic used in common consumer items and materials, also known as commodity plastics<\/em>. If a specific item (or perhaps a part of it) is made of a certain class of plastic, these numbers would let you know. Common materials for plastics are often branded with one of seven different number classifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Named PET for short, these are perhaps the most famous of the plastics. While in the context of fabrics, they\u2019re mostly known as polyesters<\/em>, it\u2019s food packaging that gave this class of plastics their fame (or notoriety); it\u2019s the \u201cPET\u201d in \u201cPET bottle.\u201d These plastics are lightweight, and can be easily recyclable due to their inherent properties, hence their ubiquity and general usefulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortened to HDPE, these plastics are used for their high strength-to-density ratio; it\u2019s resistant to breaking when you make it thick enough, so it\u2019s mostly used for situations where you really<\/em> don\u2019t want the stuff inside spilling out: milk containers, bottle caps, jerry cans, trash cans, and the like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PVC for short, these plastics are known for their excellent chemical resistance. You can throw acids, bases, alcohols, salt solutions, and pretty much any other common liquid waste on it and PVC still won\u2019t budge\u2014hence why it\u2019s famously used as pipe material for domestic sewage systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LDPE, as the name suggests, is yet another grade of polyethylene, much like HDPE. However, due to how it\u2019s made compared to its denser counterpart, it\u2019s very light and flexible, allowing the formation of items and materials that can bend or contort in basic use without failure. This is why LDPE is the most common material used in plastic bags. As you might have guessed, the base plastic polyethylene (which it shares with HDPE, #2) is also the most-produced plastic in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being the least dense of the commodity plastics, PP is often used for when you need the properties of a plastic without much of the mass that accompanies it. As such, it\u2019s mostly used for lightweight reinforcement in the industry, such as car bumpers, fiber filler in composites, and others. It can also be used in food packaging\u2014mostly for takeout drink cups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PS for short, this is a type of plastic that shares a lot of its properties with the other plastics on this list, hence why you\u2019ll also see it on some food packaging, as well as plastic cutlery, among other items. It is, however, famous for one of the ways it can be formed; it can be foamed<\/em> into a material filled with air pockets, which makes it ideal for impact absorption; this is why you\u2019ll mostly recognize PS from old packaging of electronics and similarly fragile items, as well as packing peanuts. (Nowadays, manufacturers use biodegradable alternatives to help in the environmental effort\u2014hence why you rarely see PS foam when you buy a new smartphone.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 7th code functions as a catch-all for the rest of the commodity plastics not in the other six categories: polycarbonates<\/em> (PC), for engineering applications; polyamides<\/em> (PA), perhaps most known by one of its variants, Nylon; and bioplastics<\/em>, among others. You\u2019ll find these in various machines and implementations, from cars to computers and appliances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, if you\u2019ll remember, these triangles used to have arrows on them, too\u2014much like the famous recycling symbol. New revisions to the convention implemented by the American Society for Testing Materials<\/em> (ASTM) have removed these arrows. As it turns out, the arrows became a tad bit misleading; instead of informing everyday consumers of what plastic<\/em> it was, they were instead being used as rough metrics of how recyclable<\/em> it was as an item. Seeing the numbers inside a recycling symbol gave off the impression that the item was just that <\/em>much recyclable. Of course, this was a total misunderstanding, but consumers didn\u2019t know it; to help avoid these misconceptions, the ASTM decided to remove the arrows entirely back in 2013 with a revision to the ASTM standard D7611, and have since left them as standard triangles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While yes, it\u2019s not always pretty to think about the implications and widespread environmental impact of manufacturing these conveniences, their impact on our everyday lives is undeniable. Computers, body transplants, candy bar wrappers\u2014they\u2019re all there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, with efforts underway to help limit how much plastic we use and waste, it is imperative that we as consumers know just what exactly we are buying with our money. From proper waste disposal to recycling efforts that help return some of the waste plastic back into the manufacturing process, it\u2019s important to know what these plastics actually are. Not only does it inform us of what it\u2019s used for; it also helps waste disposal and recycling facilities determine what exactly they need to do to handle the waste once it reaches their hands. (Now you know why most recycling facilities recommend that you remove bottle caps from PET bottles; they\u2019re made of different plastics, and are thus recycled in different ways.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, yes, that\u2019s precisely what the numbers under your soda bottle are for: it helps inform you, and it helps inform the people who handle it after you throw it at the nearest proper disposal area. But with increasing public awareness about how we use and misuse our generated plastic, some have made it their mission to help out in our collective recycling and\/or proper waste disposal efforts as best as they can.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCap It All Off<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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