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Plastics 1, 2 & 5 - FAQs

Plastics type #1 (PET)

PET is one of the easiest plastics to recycle and therefore has good market value. It is most commonly used for soft drink and water bottles, and for a wide range of clear and coloured drink bottles. Other uses are common household items including a wide range of plastic jars, cleaning containers, personal care bottles, some meat trays, punnets for berries and tomatoes and plastic clam shells for muffins and baked goods.

Plastics type #2 (HDPE)

Plastic #2 HDPE is also easy to recycle. It is most commonly used for milk and cream bottles, some ice-cream containers, juice bottles, shampoo, cleaning and detergent bottles.

The easiest way to check if an item is recyclable or not is to look for the numbered triangle. If it says 1, 2, or 5 and it's from an item you ate out of, drank from, cleaned your body or your house with, add the plastic container to your recycling.

It is essential to check each item because there are no hard and fast rules around which items are type 1, 2 or 5. For example, yogurt pots can be made from plastics #5 or #6.

If the number is a 3, 4, 6 or 7 then it needs to go into your rubbish bin. Sometimes plastics don’t have a number on them. These are unidentified plastics and also need to go into your rubbish bin.

It is really important to check each item because there is no hard and fast rules around which items are type 1, 2 or 5. For example, yogurt pots can be made from plastics #5 or #6 while some biscuit trays can be a #1 or #3.

Unfortunately yes, sometimes recycling ends up in landfill. The most common reasons for this is due to high concentrations of non-recyclable items and contamination such as food waste mixed in with otherwise good recycling. Even in cases where contamination can be dealt with at the sorting facility, it is sometimes more economically-feasible to divert contaminated loads to landfill. The cost of processing contaminated loads is more expensive, and in some cases outweighs profits from materials that can be recycled.

You can also follow the Waipā District Council’s Facebook page, as we often promote waste minimisation events we fund or run.

You can go plastics-free or start the journey in many ways. You can join “Zero Waste in NZ” on Facebook for great tips and ideas or follow our local waste minimisation heroines Nic on Instagram at mainstreamgreen and Katie on Instagram zerobelowbykatie.

You can check out the Zero Waste Waipā guidebook that lists all the places you can shop plastic-free, or mostly free, where you can buy milk in glass, how to get veggies delivered just loose in a box and all the incredible sharing locations in Waipā. There are over 25 listings already! Support local!

Google alternatives to specific products you use that can be handmade. If your favourite yoghurt is in a #6 container, try making your own: https://www.annabel-langbein.com/recipes/homemade-yoghurt/822/.

Sign-up for our e-newsletter to learn more about our waste minimisation straight into your inbox.

It’s important to only place plastics 1, 2 & 5 and other correct types of recycling into your recycling bins.

Plastics 3, 4, 6 & 7 and other non-recyclable materials will cause contamination. Although the local recycling sorting facility has staff that manually remove non-recyclables, it is only sometimes cost-effective to do this.

If the recycling loads contain a significant amount of non-recyclable plastics and other contamination, it could mean these loads will end up going straight to landfill.

We have a full-time recycling educator checking bins before they are collected. If they see non-recyclable plastics in there, you will get a sticker letting you know your bin will still be collected the first time, but if it continues, you might get a tag and no collection until only plastic #1, #2 and #5 are seen in your bin.

Unfortunately, there are very few options for these lower-value plastics anywhere globally, especially in a small country like New Zealand.

You must only place plastics 1, 2 & 5 and other correct types of recycling into your recycling bins as these plastics are high quality and easy to recycle and make into new products.

No, it is unlikely there will be a change in the markets for these lower value plastics in the foreseeable future.

Plastic #3 or Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) is rarely used as a food packaging material since the government phased it out in 2022.

Plastic #4 or Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) is often used for tomato ketchup, mustard and BBQ sauce squeeze bottles.

Plastic-type #6 or Polystyrene (PS) is often used for products such as moulded packaging for electronics, yoghurt, and soft cheese pottles such as sour cream, cottage cheese, and sushi and pie trays.

Plastic-type #7 or Plastic Composition: Other includes all other plastics not included in categories 1 to 6 and is used for a range of packaging, e.g. fresh pasta packaging, PLA or plant-based plastics, sliced meat packaging and many others.

Yes if you can. These low grade plastics are known as problematic plastics as most have potentially toxic chemicals and they are much harder to be reused or recycled. Plastic #3 polystyrene, #6 polyurethane and polycarbonate are considered as the most problematic.

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