PET is commonly used for soft drink & water bottles, cooking oil bottles, peanut butter containers. It is the most widely recycled plastic.
Identifies milk, cider & water jugs, detergent, fabric softener & bleach bottles. HDPE is slightly waxy and semi-rigid. It does not crack. It floats in water.
Also abbreviated V, PVC is used in salad dressing bottles, vegetable oil bottles and mouthwash bottles. PVC is smooth, scratches easily and sinks in water.
LDPE is used in flexible bags for dry cleaning, trash, produce, bread and shrink wrap. Recycled LDPE is often used to make grocery bags.
PP is usually is found in drinking straws, battery cases, some dairy tubs, bottles labels and caps, and rope. PP stretches into filaments and emits a chemical smell when burned.
PS and Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) both are No. 6 plastics. PS and EPS are commonly used in packaging peanuts and other packaging materials and in plastic utensils, mean and egg trays. PS sinks in water; EPS floats.
Other plastics often are made of multiple resins or layers of different types of plastics. These may include microwave packages, snack bags and industrial plastics.