Good news! Recycling plastics is easy

Published March 4, 2009
By 341st Civil Engineer Squadron personnel

MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- To continue successful plastic recycling at Malmstrom, the local recycler needs help to make the program work for all involved. Not all plastic is recyclable and mixing types requires sorting which further diminishes the value.

You can help keep the costs of collection, sorting and reprocessing down and keep the value of the plastic high, by recycling only those types of plastic currently accepted for recycling. Only #1 and #2 Plastic is currently recycled. Sorry, no styrofoam or plastic bags please.

Remove caps and lids, rinse then sort your plastic containers by number. Recyclable plastic must be separated by number in order to avoid contamination as it begins the recycling process. The containers at the Recycle center are for # 1 and #2 plastic only.

Plastic #1: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE)
Common uses: water, juice and soft drink/ soda bottles, cooking oil bottles and peanut butter jars; this is the most widely recycled plastic. Plastic type 1 (PETE) can be recycled into items like carpet, auto parts, paint brushes and industrial paints.

Plastic #2: High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
Common uses: detergent bottles, milk jugs. Plastic type 2 (HDPE) is recycled into products like detergent and engine oil bottles, trash cans and recycling bins.