Recycling by the Numbers - Or Not

At my house, whenever we order takeout that comes in plastic containers, we examine them after dinner to read the number on the bottom. Those with a “5” inside the triangular recycling symbol go into a large cardboard box near the kitchen. We have been saving them up for about six months now. Since last fall, we have accumulated enough that we started a second box.

Why, you might wonder, am I keeping a stash of plastic containers in my house? There is a good reason.

Shortly before the launch of Rethink the Bins, I discovered the “Gimme 5” program. It was too late to mention it in the book, but I shared it with everyone at my November 30 book launch. Preserve, a company that makes toothbrushes and other products from recycled polypropylene (#5 plastic), started a mail-in program where individuals anywhere in the US can mail in boxes of # 5 plastics. Preserve then recycles those materials to make its products.

Polypropylene is a recyclable material, but it rarely gets recycled. That is because many sorting facilities only accept plastics for recycling based on shape. Their systems can identify and separate bottles, jugs, and tubs, all of which are made from recyclable materials (plastic types #1, 2, or 5). But many #5 plastics come in different shapes.

Plastic clamshell containers and trays made from a variety of plastic materials all look alike. The easiest way to distinguish them is to read the numbers on the bottom. Types #1 and #5 might be recycled, but not #6.

Sorting facilities are not equipped with optical scanners that can distinguish the different numbers. Hiring a bunch of employees to read each container is not workable. Doing so would slow the process and cost far more than the facility could earn selling the plastic.

What are residents to do? We can choose to stop buying food in plastic clamshells or trays. We can ask our favorite restaurants to pack our meals in reusable containers. Pre-pandemic, I found that many food truck employees were happy to use the containers I handed them. I hope that option will return.

If we aren’t willing to give up certain packaged foods and sometimes order takeout from restaurants that use plastic, though, we need to remember not to toss the containers into the recycling.

We can wash out the containers and reuse them rather than toss them into the garbage. I often do that. Polypropylene containers, especially the thicker, sturdier ones, are even dishwasher and microwave safe. Other types of plastic are best used for storing items other than food.

When I heard about the Gimme 5 program, it delighted me to discover an option for recycling containers and keeping them from the landfill. This wasn’t “wishcycling.” My used containers would get sanitized, ground up, melted, and turned into toothbrushes or bowls. I dutifully rinsed them out and placed them into a sturdy cardboard box.

Back to why I’ve been storing my #5 plastics for so many months. When I visited the website to look up the mailing address, I was dismayed to see a notice that Preserve had paused the Gimme 5 program “due to logistical challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The latest update says that the Gimme 5 program will probably resume in September 2021. Meanwhile, I will keep saving my #5 plastic trays and clamshells.

Yes, I realize that using fewer containers is a better option. I cook at home most nights. But when I don’t feel like cooking, I appreciate the option to order out and support local restaurants that have been struggling to stay afloat this past year.