The Sandy Springs Recycling Center is letting residents know that not all plastics are accepted at the facility.
The two types of plastics that the recycling center at 460 Morgan Falls Road can accept are:
#1 (PET) narrow-necked bottles only. These are usually beverage bottles. The caps can be left on. However, note that many food containers, clam shells, and other packaging are marked #1 PET or PETE, but these cannot be at the Sandy Springs facility. These “thermoform” products cause problems for the recycling center’s end market, according to the press release.
#2 (HDPE) plastics—these are usually milk jugs, detergent bottles, or shampoo bottles.
People who want to drop off their recycling should make sure the plastics are clean and free of food or beverage residue.
The assumption has been that if it’s plastic, it can be recycled, but the center said in a press release that it depends on a variety of factors. It’s not feasible economically or environmentally to recycle all types of plastics.
“We’ve also been led to believe that the chasing arrow symbol on a product means that it’s recyclable. In reality, these chasing arrow symbols are simply an indicator of the type of material that the product is made from and does not indicate that it can be recycled,” the press release said.
For those plastics that the recycling center does not accept, they ask the public to throw them away at home. Or they can visit Earth911.com to use the search feature to try to find another location that does accept other types of plastics.
National Geographic offers a guide to various types of plastics and what the numbers inside the chasing arrow symbol mean.
Questions can be directed to director@knfb.org.