We are told from our council that we need to recycle, but they will only recycle plastic bottles what about the other plastics that you can get from all the packaging? Why cant we recycle them?
Different plastics have to be recycled in different ways and the recycling company they use can only handle certain types of plastics. As for why there are so many types of plastic, it's because we have many different requirements for our materials.
There are so many different types of plastics because each type of plastic has different properties that make it suitable for it's use. Some plastics have greater rigidity and strength (like PVC), some plastics are more economically feasible (like PET) and some are more heat resistant like the plastics used to make bowls and storage containers. #1 and #2 plastics are most commonly recycled. The other types are generally not recycled because it is cheaper to make new plastic out of petroleum than to bear the expense of collection, sorting and recycling. Also, plastic must be sorted as plastic made from more than one type of recycled plastic is not structurally sound. The best thing to do is avoid plastic packaging in the first place.
