Plastic #5 (Polypropylene) Recycling Plastic #5 containers are highly recyclable. Common examples include cold cups, takeout containers, and yogurt cups. Avoid Black PlasticChoose plastic items that are white or clear and avoid black plastic. The darker the color, the harder to recycle. Dark colored plastics are not detectable by Athens’ optical sorters and have lower recycling rates (regardless of resin type). Prep Plastic #5 for Recycling: Empty all contents from the cup or container. Remove foil lid and any non-plastic sleeve (i.e. paper sleeve on a yogurt cup) Athens Services recycles plastics #1 PET bottles and clamshells, #2 HDPE, and #5 PP. To identify your products’ plastic type, look for the resin number inside the chasing arrows, usually located on the bottom of the item. The recycling symbol does not indicate if the product is recyclable or not. Keep Caps On When recycling plastic containers with caps, leave the caps on. While caps used to be difficult to separate from containers, recycling equipment and processes have advanced, and it is much easier now to recycle the whole bottle at once. Find out more from the Association of Plastic Recyclers (PDF). Avoid Heating Plastic Keep plastics containing food or drink out of the microwave, dishwasher and other hot places, like your car. The warmer plastic gets, the more it tends to break down, melt and release chemicals. Did You Know? What Items Are Made From Plastic #5? Plastic #5 is used to make items including yogurt cups and tubs, margarine tubs, syrup bottles, plastic bottle caps, straws, food storage containers, sunglasses, plastic furniture, and car parts such as bumpers and trim. What Plastic #5 Can Become Plastic #5 can be recycled into battery cables and cases, brooms, brushes, bicycle racks and ice scrapers.