City of Madison Plastic Recycling Guidelines

Over the past few decades, the use of polymers in disposable consumer goods has grown tremendously. This growth is proving to be taxing on the waste disposal system, consuming a large fraction of available landfill space. Furthermore, the raw materials for these polymers are obtained from petroleum, a limited, non-renewable resource. To reduce the demand for landfill space and the consumption of limited petroleum reserves, the recycling of polymers has become a subject of concern. One of the problems faced in recycling polymers is the great variety of polymers in use. To help sort wastes by type of polymer, most disposable polymeric goods are labeled with a recycling code: three arrows around a number above the polymer's acronym. These are intended to help consumers separate the waste polymers according to type before disposing of them. In the city of Madison, currently only type 1 (PETE) and type 2 (HDPE) polymers are being recycled - see below. The recycling of polymers is not a closed loop, where a material is reformed into new products repeatedly, such as in the case with aluminum. Most polymeric materials are recycled only once, and the product made of recycled polymer is discarded after use. To obtain the maximum benefit from recycled polymer, the products made from it generally are intended to have a relatively long useful life. Recycled polymers are used in products such as cafeteria trays, large plastic toys, impact absorbing highway pylons, and carpeting. Some recycled PETE is now used in 2-liter soft-drink containers. In general, products made from recycled polymers are more expensive than those made from virgin plastic. This is the case because current manufacturing facilities are geared to production from new materials. As more factories capable of using recycled plastics are constricted, the costs of using recycled polymers will decline; however, more factories will be built only if we are willing to pay "up front" the costs of recycling (as higher prices of consumer goods),rather than delaying costs of disposal (in the form of increased taxes)

No product causes more confusion for users of the Madisonpride recycling program than plastic. Because plastic is expensive to collect and sort, recycling the wrong kinds of plastic is a waste of tax dollars. The Madisonpride recycling program accepts only those plastic containers marked &

General rules

Remove and discard all lids or caps.

1. Rinse all containers.

2. Remove and discard sprayer tops.

3. CRUSH all plastic bottles to save space.

4. No 5 gallon pails.

5. No containers with metal handles.

What can be Recycled?

Plastic Code Number

Recyclable Containers

Soda Bottles

Water Bottles

Juice Bottles

Cooking Oil Bottles

Soap/Detergent Bottles

Shampoo Bottles

Clear Liquor Bottles

Food Jars (Peanut Butter etc.)

Plastic Code Number

Recyclable Containers

Milk Bottles

Water Bottles

Juice Bottles

Cooking Oil Containers

Windshield Washer Fluid Bottles

Shampoo Bottles

Butter/Margarine Tubs

Cottage Cheese Containers

Ice Cream Containers Without Metal Handles

Baby Wipe Containers

Do NOT Recycle This Plastic

1. Automotive Product Containers Including:

• Motor Oil Bottles

• Anti-Freeze Containers

• Gasoline and Oil Additive Bottles

2. Brown Liquor Bottles

3. All Containers Marked With The Following Codes:

Plastics numbered 3-7 have very limited markets, and the cost to separate and ship these small volume plastics is in excess of $12,000 per month. Buying soft drinks and drinking water in containers with recycled content helps the Madisonpride recycling program by insuring markets for the materials collected from your home for recycling. Currently, only soft drink and water containers made of glass and aluminum have high percentages of recycled content.