Understanding Plastic Water Bottle Recycling Codes: A Comprehensive Guide

Plastic bottles are used for a variety of different drinks, and a bottle approved for one-time use to hold soda and a bottle for water aren't necessarily the same. To identify what sort of bottle you do have, and what the safe uses for it are, check the plastics recycling number on the bottle.

Instructions

• 1

  Look at the base of the plastic water bottle you want to identify. In the center of that base you should find a number surrounded by the three arrows of the recycling symbol. That number designates what type of plastic the bottle is made of.

• 2

  Look up that number on a plastics chart (see References). Seven kinds of plastic are used in food and drink containers.

• 3

  Decide what to do with the bottle once you know what sort of plastic it's made of. Some types of plastic are meant to be reused for water and others aren't. However, all types of plastic bottle can be recycled, with the number identifying the plastic used to sort material.