Plastic #1: PET
#1 plastic (Polyethylene Terephthalate or PET) is commonly used in food and beverage containers such as water and soda bottles, cooking oil containers, plastic peanut butter jars, and salad dressing bottles. It is accepted for recycling at the Floyd Transfer Station and Green Box Convenience Centers. These plastics are shredded and melted down to make new recycled products such as reusable plastic grocery tote bags and textiles.
Preparation
Items should be rinsed and dry. The outside should be clean, but traces of food waste inside are acceptable. Labels do not need to be removed. If the lid is included, it should be firmly screwed on to the container. #1 and #2 plastics can be mixed. Please check every item to confirm the plastic number within the recycling arrows symbol. Items without a number should not be included with recyclables.
Locations
Floyd Transfer Station
139 Transfer Station Road SE, Floyd, Virginia 24091
https://www.floydcova.gov/solid-waste
Hours: Monday - Friday 8am - 4pm, Saturday 8am - 11:30am, Closed Sunday
Resources
How to store produce without plastic
https://myplasticfreelife.com/2010/05/18/how-to-store-produce-without-plastic/
The Berkeley Farmers Market has put together a huge list of ways to store produce without plastic.
Additional Information
While we offer information and help in recycling plastic, we are well aware of the problems and limits associated with recycling. In the case of plastics, recycling often requires long journeys and processes that may be highly energy consumptive and produce toxic byproducts. We believe that drastic reduction of plastic use is needed and where possible we offer tips on how to reduce use at the household level. Addressing this problem at both the corporate and government level is also needed.
Alternatives
It takes over 17 million barrels of oil to meet the demand of U.S. water bottle manufacturing. To help cut down on the use of fossil fuels in the production of plastic, ditch the plastic single use water bottles and get a reusable water bottle to carry with you. Consider the quality [for long lasting use], ease of cleaning, wide mouth or not, and insulating capacity.
Did you know that drinking from plastic water bottles can expose you to micro plastics? Research shows that water bottled in plastic has roughly double the number of microplastics as tap water.
Last updated on November 22nd, 2024