Categorisation of Recyclable Plastics

Published on 20/10/2011

In order to make sorting and recycling easier, the plastic materials have been categorized in seven types based on its properties and applications. Some recycling standards marking codes have been developed which are universally accepted to help consumers identify and sort the main types of plastic. The symbols defined by society of the Plastic Industry (SPI) USA and available in the IS 14535:1998 of BIS are shown in table 4:

Table 1: CATEGORIZATION OF PLASTICS

Codes	Properties	Packaging Applications	Recycled Products
	Clarity, strength,toughness, barrier togas and moisture,resistance to heat	Packaged drinking bottles andsoft drink bottles	Packaged drinking bottles and soft drink bottles
	Stiffness, strength,toughness, resistanceto chemicals andmoisture, permeabilityto gas, ease ofprocessing	Raffia bags, knitted fabrics,water, gas and sewer pipes,small volume bottles to largebarrels, house wares, storagebins, caps and closures,shopping bags, etc.	Flower pots, trash cans, traffic cones, detergent bottles, soap cases, other household items, etc.
	Versatility, clarity,eases of blending,strength, toughness,resistance to grease,oil and chemicals.	pharmaceutical tabletpackaging, potable waterpipes and irrigation pipes andfittings, door and windowprofiles, cables, floorings,medical products like bloodbags, footwear, etc.	Footwear, irrigation and other drainage pipes, mats, etc.
	Ease of processing,strength, toughness,flexibility, ease ofsealing, barrier tomoisture.	Wide width films, agriculturefilms and pipes, heavy dutybags, shrink films, cableinsulation and sheathing,extrusion coating, liquidpackaging, etc.	Grocery bags, shelter films, household items, etc.
	Strength, toughness,resistance to heat,chemicals, grease andoil, versatile, barrier tomoisture.	Raffia, monofilaments,strapping, automobile batteriesand automobile components,luggage and furniture, combs,ball pens, injection syringe,etc.	Plastic lumber, household goods, luggage, etc.
	Versatility, insulation,clarity, easily formed	Disposable cups, packagingmaterials, meat trays, audiovisual cassettes, etc.	Plastic lumber, cassette tape boxes, flower pots, etc.
	Dependent on resin orcombination of resins	The category includes otherplastics like nylon, ABS, PolyAcetals, Polycarbonate,	Recycling of these high value plastics are special in nature.

Source: IS 14535: 1998 & ICPE Newsletter, Vol. 6, Issue 2, Apr- Jan 2005.

This table shows the types of typical thermoplastic and thermosetting resins:

Table 3: TYPICAL THERMOPLASTIC AND THERMOSETTING RESINS

               Source: Central Pollution Control Board