| Type of plastic | Uses | Recycled in York | Recycled into | |
 |
Polyethylene terephthalate PET or PETE |
Drinks bottles, medicine bottles, peanut butter jars, some supermarket trays | At kerbside | Back into bottles for soft drinks or turned into carpets, totebags and fibrefill stuffing for coats |
 |
High density polyethylene
HDPE |
Milk, fruit juice, shampoo and soap bottles | At kerbside | Lumber like material used in furniture, crates and fencing |
 |
Polyvinyl chloride
PVC |
Cling wraps, medicine blister packs, window frames | Empty window frames can be taken to household waste recycling centres* | Not commonly recycled, but can used for building and other materials |
 |
Low density polyethylene
LDPE |
Cling wraps, sandwich bags, carrier bags | Carrier bags and plastic envelopes can be recycled at some supermarkets | Lumber like material used in furniture, crates and fencing |
 |
Polypropylene
PP |
Takeaway containers, margarine and ice cream tubs | At “bring banks” located in the carparks of Sainsbury at Foss Island and Monks Cross | Ice scrapers, battery cables and rakes |
 |
Polystyrene | Packing “nuts”, Styrofoam, tapes and CD cases | NO | Very lightweight and costly to recycle. Can be made into insulation |
 |
Other | Mixed type of multi-layered plastic items | Take non-squashable hard plastic (eg garden furniture, broken toys and plastic boxes to the household waste recycling centres* | Hard to recycle due to the wide range of chemicals used |
* York Household waste recycling centres are located at:
- Hazel Court, YO10 3DS
- Towthorpe, YO32 9S
With thanks to St Nicks