Hey, Green Junkie!

Ever wondered what those little numbers at the bottom of your plastic bottles, jars and containers mean?

Those little numbers might be small but the information they give us is mighty.

From the chemicals the plastic is made from to how we should recycle that item – the information is vast.

So in this episode, I wanted to do a quick breakdown of each number so that you know what your containers contain and how you can be a more conscious recycler because here’s a little secret: Not everything can or should be recycled.

What you can expect from this episode:

• Learn what the recycling numbers mean and how to recycle properly
• What to watch out for when you are recycling
• What things aren't recyclable
• What chemicals and numbers you should be wary of bringing into your home
• Find out which plastic is dubbed as the “poison” plastic
• Learn which plastic numbers can disrupt hormones

You’ll discover that and so much more in this episode.

I’d also like to thank Koyah for supporting today’s episode. They are organic freeze-dried fruits and vegetables are the perfect way to live a healthy lifestyle without the stress. They are so delicious and I love adding them to smoothies and other recipes for my family.

Want to grab some Koyah goodies? Go here and use code GREENJUNKIE to save 15% off your next purchase.

If you love this podcast be sure to leave a review and share a screenshot of this episode to your IG stories. Tag @greenjunkiepodcast so I can shout you out and publicly say thanks. 

Thanks for listening and being here.

Your green bestie,

Xoxo Stephanie

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Sources

1. https://www.greenmatters.com/renewables/2018/09/13/ZG59GA/plastic-recycling-numbers-resin-codes
2. https://millerrecycling.com/plastics-recycling-numbers/

LISTEN BELOW

TRANSCRIPT FOR EPISODE 8

0:08 Hi, Green Junkie, I'm your host, Stephanie Moram. And today we're going to be focusing on one of my most favourite topics, recycling.

0:17 Have you ever looked at the bottom of a plastic bottle and wondered what that triangle is the number inside because you're not alone. Plastics can be super confusing. And many people when they're well-intended, actually wish-cycle.

0:33 And it's not just plastics, recycling, anything that they put into the recycling bin. And what wish-cycling is, is when people put recycling into their recycling bin, and they really have no idea if it could actually be recycled. But they're hoping and wishing that that item that they put in recycling will get recycled. And the problem is, there can be consequences when you throw stuff in the recycling, that can't actually be recycled.

1:04 For example, plastic bags. Not all recycling facilities actually take plastic bags. The reason for this is the machinery is slightly different when you're recycling plastic bags versus other items. So when you throw plastic bags into your recycling, you could potentially slow down the whole process of recycling and shut down machines.

1:26 I remember when we lived in Wichita, Kansas, I went to visit the recycling facility and they went into depth on all the reasons to not mix your plastic bags with other recyclables. Especially do not send them or put them in your recycling bin, if your local recycling facilities do not accept them.

1:51 By the end of this episode, you'll be an expert or almost an expert on all things recycling, and what those numbers mean. That way you can easily know what plastics you can and cannot recycle.

2:05 If you know someone who is a wish cycler or someone that loves all things green and recycling, please share this episode with them on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Now let's get into it.

2:21 The recycling symbol found on plastic products does not actually indicate that a product is necessarily recyclable, or recycled. So let me say that again. The recycling symbol found on plastic products does not indicate that a product is necessarily recycled, or recyclable.

2:39 The number that is on the bottles is a resin identification code that tells you what kind of plastic that material is made of plastics. So number one, or number two are actually commonly recycled plastics, while numbers 3-4-5-6 and seven are generally tougher plastics to recycle, and aren't universally collected in local recycling programs. So with that said, I highly encourage you going forward to go to your local recycling facility, Facebook page or website, whatever that is, and find out exactly what it is that they recycle before you start putting stuff in the recycle bin.

3:25 My Local recycling facility has it very, very clear on their website what can and cannot be recycled, and what steps you need to take to recycle. For example, they want all the plastic bags put into one clear bag. And I'm assuming that the reason they do that is that they don't want the bags to clog the machines. And the bags are easily identified when they're all in one bag together.

3:53 So let's break down the different numbers. Hopefully, this will be helpful and hopefully, this will guide you in the right direction when it comes to recycling.

4:02 So number one plastic, which is polyethylene tarafellate. Thank goodness I said that correctly.

4:12 Plastic number one. Even if you don't know that term, you've probably encountered this type of plastic today, or at least at some point because it is the most frequently recycled plastic. And it can be found in peanut butter jars, plastic soda, plastic water bottles, microwavable food trays, salad dressing bottles, and it is one of the plastics that is most accepted at recycling centers.

4:43 There's a good chance that you touched this plastic today. So this plastic can be recycled. I'm pretty confident that every single recycling facility accepts number one, but like I mentioned before, take a quick look on their website. of your local recycling facility just to be sure.

5:02 Now plastic number two, which is high-density polyethylene. So this is also an extremely common plastic. It's a tougher plastic versus number one plastic. It's usually opaque in appearance, whereas number one plastic is usually a clear plastic that you can see through.

5:23 It can be found in most things like milk bottles, laundry detergent bottles, cleaning products, personal care bottles for things like shampoo and body wash can also be found in children's toys and in some plastic bags. And the acronym for it is HDPE. So these products can be recycled. Again, I'm fairly confident that plastic number two is accepted at most recycling facilities. And this plastic is usually recycled into picnic tables, pens, fencing, detergent bottles, and waste bins.

6:02 Plastic number three PVC. Oh, PVC. It is a soft, flexible plastic that can be found in a wide variety of household items, but it's most commonly known and used for pipe plumbing. It appears in cooking oil and shampoo bottles, medical tubing, window cleaner bottles, fast food trays, plastic wrapping for things like fruits and sweets.

6:31 PVC is dubbed as poisoned plastic because it contains toxins that can be leached throughout its entire life cycle. PVC can be recycled, but it is a tougher plastic to get recycled. So again, please do your research and check if this plastic can actually be recycled at your recycling facility.

7:01 I'm so excited that koyah agreed to sponsor this episode koyah makes fruits and veggies easier to eat with simple, organic, freeze-dried powders, all you have to do is add a scoop to water your smoothie and drink. And I love the story behind koyah as well and how Marcus the owner got started with his business.

7:28 You see koyah started as a way for Marcus's dad to eat more fruits and vegetables because he was going through chemotherapy for colon cancer. It was a real struggle for his dad to eat healthy, and have healthy habits and to break his previous food addiction.

7:46 Because of all the chemotherapy his dad was going through, he was losing his energy. So Marcus felt inclined to help in any way that he could. So he started to make his dad powdered smoothies using dried organic whole fruits and vegetable powders. This made eating the fruits and vegetables simple. Like I said just add water shake and drink.

8:09 Within a couple of months, his dad had developed this consistent habit of drinking a smoothie a day. A big improvement from his fast food and sugary snacks that he ate before. He was feeling healthy and his chemo treatments came to an end. He started to get his energy back.

8:27 It's now a couple of years later, and Marcus's father is so far, cancer has not returned. And he's still drinking those powdered smoothies for lunch every day. Seeing how the powders in his smoothie helped make eating fruits and vegetables so easy for his dad, gave him the courage to grow Koyah into what it is today. The goal of Koyah is to make the world's highest quality fruit and vegetable products so you can eat more of them every single day, even when life gets busy.

9:07 If you'd like to try Koyah for yourself simply go to Koyah dot organic and at checkout enter GREENJUNKIE to get 15% off your order. And a little side note, the spinach freeze-dried powder is amazing. It's a great way to get more spinach into your diet.

9:25 Again use GREENJUNKIE at checkout to get 15% off.

9:34 Number four plastic LDPE which is low density, polyethylene. Plastic number four is found in squeezed bottles, soft plastic, it's also in bread bags and sandwich bags. It's what your shopping bag is probably made of.

9:53 It can be found in carpets and clothing. This plastic is actually mostly used in the plastic film so that means that shrinkwrap that a lot of you use. And PS, if you don't want to use plastic wrap, get some sort of like beeswax wrap, just side note if you don't want to use that plastic anymore.

10:12 So it's used in dry cleaning bags. Like I mentioned grocery bags, bread bags, frozen bags, so anything that's like a plastic bag that your food is wrapped in, can be recycled, sometimes. It is a plastic bag. So like I mentioned at the beginning, not all plastic bags can actually be recycled at facilities you need to check with that. recycling centers can turn LD plastics into things like floor tiles, and plastic bin liners.

10:41 Next up, we have number five plastic, which is polypropylene. This particular plastic is used to make food containers for plastics like yogurt, sour cream and butter. It has a very high melting point in this plastic, so it's great for hot liquids. So that thin layer that is on your coffee cup or your teacup when you get takeout. That's what number five plastic is. It can also be found in furniture and toys, and all that other stuff. So just another side note.

11:18 So it's really really hard to recycle this particular plastic when it's a coffee cup because it's got paper and it has a plastic lining. That's why it's really important to bring your reusable coffee or tea mug with you. Because the coffee mugs generally do not get recycled. This type of plastic is sometimes recyclable. They usually turn it into battery cases, boots, Tupperware bins, and stuff like that. But again, number five is one of those plastics that not all recycling facilities will accept. So you do need to check that your particular one accepts it.

12:03 Now on to number six styrofoam. I hate styrofoam. I dislike it in so many ways because there are so many alternatives out there that be can be used instead of styrofoam.

12:21 It's versatile, don't get me wrong. It's commonly used for coffee mugs, packaging peanuts and to go containers because it's a good insulator. But as I mentioned, there are other alternatives out there. And this is why when I go to a restaurant, I generally bring my own containers because there's a good chance that the restaurant is going to bring me a styrofoam container to put my leftovers in.

12:49 Thankfully though, plastic number six is one of the least favourite types of plastics out there. And companies are starting to use it less and less and are finding alternatives to using styrofoam. styrofoam is generally not recyclable. But there are some facilities that will take it if you drop it off there directly. I haven't seen many recycling facilities that actually have number six as something that they accept but again, depends on your recycling facility, but generally, this is one of the hardest ones to recycle.

13:33 Now we're on to number seven plastic. This is the catch-all term for all plastic types that don't fit into one to six. Plastic number seven includes fibreglass, acrylic, it can be used to make baby bottles, sippy cups, thermos bottles, car parts, think about those oven-baking bags, or those large three to five-gallon water jugs that people refill at their in their offices.

14:08 So because it's such a weird group, it's kind of hard for recycling facilities to actually recycle this particular plastic. Plastic number seven also covers plastics like polycarbonate, which is known as an endocrine disruptor, releasing BPA into foods and drinks. Plastic number seven, as I said is super tricky, and it often just ends up in landfills and doesn't get recycled. But you can check with your local recycling facility to check if it actually can be recycled.

14:46 Recycling can be a super important part one living a green lifestyle. But I just want to add before you reach for those disposable products that are made with plastic, maybe think if there is a reason usable counterpart because we don't need all this plastic. While recycling, again is helpful, it's not the solution to our plastic problem. One of the solutions is to kind of reduce the amount of plastic that we use.

15:19 So as a green junkie fanatic myself, I want to guide you to live a little more green on your own terms, because it really is simpler than you might think, to be sure to subscribe to the green junkie podcast to get updates when I release new episodes. And you can follow me @Greenjunkiepodcast on Instagram.

15:42 So lots of green goodness is happening behind the scenes here at Green junkie. And I don't want you to miss what I have in store for you. Do something today to live a little more green when it comes to recycling. Thank you for tuning in. And I'll see you next week, Green Junkie!