Plastics have a recycle sign and a number in it,What does it stand for ?

Question

Plastics have a recycle sign and a number in it,What does it stand for ?

Answer 1

The numbers are called resin identification codes, and they indicate the type of plastic that an item is made from. These numbers are intended to help consumers know whether and how to recycle various plastic products and packages.

Here is a PDF chart of all the numbers, and plastics that they represent:

http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_plast...

Answer 2

There are 7 types of consumer plastics or resin, and the number indicates what kind.  Type #6 usually can't be recycled, and types #1 and #2 have to be separated by the recycling center (from types #3-7, excluding #6) so they are not contaminated by other types that would make it more difficult to melt the material down and reuse it.