Bumper Plastics Recycling

question about plastic. I've heard that ABS is a number 7 plastic. I'm not sure how grading of plastic works unless I clearly see a number on it, but I've also heard that printers and the backs of old tv's are ABS plastic. If your municipal facility takes #1-7 plastics could you just give them all your plastic even if its not marked?

You should definitely check with your municipal recycling center/curbside collector, first, before throwing e-waste plastics into the mix. Make sure when you ask, you don't just say, "I some #7 plastics," as that doesn't really reflect your material, compared to what they are thinking that you mean. For example, my area recyclers can handle #2 (HPE) and #5 (polypropylene) but exclude anything that is less than two inches wide and thick and/or longer than two feet. That means many of the plastics I pull from appliances can't go in the recycling bin. Also, most municipal plants are producing plastic bales which are food-grade, since that's where most demand is happening, and ABS is decidedly not safe to eat off of, I think. Many publicly-accessible recovery facilities can't process much more than soda bottles and newspaper and end up throwing out anything that doesn't fit the bill. Engineering grades, like ABS and polycarbonate, usually require spec'd bales and larger-scope brokerage, which is something small recyclers and municipalities have trouble doing. I have sent plastics to my e-waste processors and forum buyers and, while not free, it was pretty cheap and easier to do than overloading my recycling dumpster with stuff I can't, in good faith, expect will be recycled.

If you don't see a #7 triangle, someplace, look on the inside surface of the bezel or plastic form. You should see something like, ">ABS<" embossed on it, someplace.

Interestingly, I just found a piece of ABS marked with a #9 in the resin code triangle. I wonder if that's going to become the norm.