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Commonly asked questions about plastics:
Why are the plastic bottle tops
not recyclable?
Please remove and discard in the trash the lids and caps of
plastic bottles. Plastic bottle lids are made from a different
type of plastic than the bottle because they need to posses
different qualities than the bottle. The two cannot be mixed
together or the resulting product will have neither of the
desired qualities of the original products.
Why don't you accept plastic
bags?
We do not collect plastic bags because they will jam the
equipment at our processing facility. Plastic bags are
collected at many grocery stores, but these are not CVWMA
programs. Because of the nuisance plastic bags cause our
community when they become litter and blow around, we
recommend paper bags. Paper bags come from a renewable
resource (trees) and are VERY recyclable!
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 The
American Plastics Council advertises “Plastics Make It Possible.”
You’ve probably seen the commercials that tell you plastic is used
in various lifesaving items such as seat belts, iv bags, bullet
proof vests and all types of safety gear. It is not surprising that
the use of plastic is widespread and is steadily growing. Up 6.4
percent from last year, the U.S. produced 7 billion tons of plastic
resin this year.
Plastics also play a huge role in our homes. Just
think about the detergent aisle or the soft drink aisle in the
grocery store—it is almost totally comprised of plastic packaged
items. Tons of these bottles make their way into our homes and
unless we recycle, the only possibility left for them is being sent
to a landfill.
CVWMA
recycles narrow neck plastic bottles with a 1 or a 2 on the bottom.
This includes many soda and water bottles, milk and juice jugs, and
household cleaner bottles. Plastics with other numbers or 1 and 2
plastics that are not bottles (like margarine tubs) are not
recyclable in the program.
How to tell the difference...
First, look for a "neck" area that separates the body of the bottle
from the place where the cap or lid twists or snaps on. As a general
rule, the mouth or opening of the container must be narrower than
the body.
 Then,
check the number on the bottom. Look for one of the two symbols to
the right. The symbol may be hard to spot on a clear bottle.
If it has a "neck" and a 1 or 2 on the bottom, recycle it!
A margarine tub and plastic bottle both have a 2 on the bottom.
Isn't this the same plastic?
 Yes,
it is the same family of plastics. But the two forms have been
slightly modified to achieve different properties for strength,
fluidity and crack resistance. Some plastic containers, such as milk
jugs and laundry detergent bottles, are made in a process called
blow-molding where the plastic resin must be thick and tacky. Other
plastic containers, such as margarine tubs and sour cream
containers, are made in a process called injection-molding where
resin is thin and runny.
When
resins produced by different processes are mixed together, the
resulting product is no longer appropriate for use in either
manufacturing process.
Marketing plastics:
 Plastics
with a number 1 or 2 on the bottom make up 70 percent of the market
of plastic bottles and are increasing every day. The strength of
this demand makes collection possible. If municipal programs
collected materials without manufacturer demand, the materials would
sit in a warehouse. The manufacturing aspect of the "cycle" is just
as important as the collection part.
In our region, we only have markets for the bottle form of HDPE (#2)
and PET (#1) plastic. For that reason, we can only accept
blow-molded (bottles with necks) and not injection-molded material
(tubs and cups). We accept #1 and #2 plastics in the bottle or
"necked" form only. The "tub" form used in many sour cream, butter
or yogurt containers is not acceptable.
If
landfilling plastics numbered 3 through 7 concerns you, make choices
to purchase recyclable packaging or find other ways to reuse
nonrecyclable packaging. Use them to store leftovers or small items
or donate them to a school for use by the art department. You may
also wish to contact the manufacturers of products packaged in
nonrecyclable materials to encourage them to look into more
recyclable packaging.
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