Ethically Kate: What do the recycling triangles on food packaging actually mean?

Most people see a triangle and throw the item in the recycling bin, but as Kate Hall explains, it's not that simple. Photo / Getty

Kate Hall’s easy guide to recycling codes

Those hard-to-find little numbers on your food packaging are resin identification numbers that tell you what type of plastic the piece of packaging is. I won’t bore you with all the number types but the most common you will find are numbers 1, 2, and 7.

Number one plastic is polyethylene terephthalate, most often used for things like soft drink bottles.

You’ll find number 2 (high-density polyethylene) on the bottom of many milk bottles, cleaning products, and shampoos.

Lastly, number 7 means “other” and includes plastics that don’t fall into categories one through to 6. If a plastic product has a triangle and no number, you can assume it’s a number 7. Number 7s are rarely recycled.

Resin identification numbers are found on all sorts of things. Toys, construction materials, and even car parts usually have a number surrounded by a triangle to identify them. It’s important to know that just because an item has a triangle and a number on it, doesn’t mean it can or will be recycled.

Most people see a triangle and throw the item in the recycling bin. This behaviour is fondly known as “wish cycling”; the hopeful belief that if you put something in your recycling bin, regardless of what it is, it will be recycled.

Instead of assuming magical things that are as likely as fairytales, read your council website to find out what types of plastics they will accept.

Finally, to destroy all your hopes and dreams, our recycling system in Aotearoa New Zealand is incredibly broken and the majority of things you think will be recycled, even if you check in with your local council, will not be.

Plastic numbers one and two are more readily recycled than others, so if you cannot avoid the packaging altogether (avoiding it in the first place is the best thing to do) opt for something made from 1 and 2 resin types and make sure everything in your recycling bin is clean and dry.