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A number inside a triangle.
Also known as: Plastic number, RIC code
Sometimes confused with: Recycling number plastic
The number identifying the plastic a container is made from.
Identifies the polymer from which a plastic item is made.
Contexts: Packaging, Public information
Identifies material and not recyclability, and the chasing-arrows triangle it sits in was chosen knowing it would be read as a recycling claim — the confusion is a design outcome rather than an accident.
Contexts: Packaging, Public information
Whether an item is collected depends on local facilities and not on the number, so the same code means the item is recycled in one place and not in another.
Contexts: Packaging, Public information
A digit from one to seven inside a triangle of three chasing arrows, moulded into the base of the container.