NB: Deze lijst is puur informatief en vrijblijvend. Onnauwkeurigheden, (schrijf)fouten of verschillen zijn mogelijk, dit gezegd hebbende, gebruik van deze informatie is voor eigen risico. Pak Verpakking probeert met deze lijst enige duidelijkheid te verschaffen omtrent de vele materiaalmogelijkheden in verpakkingen. Een helemaal rechtlijnig beeld is nooit te geven, in de verpakkingenindustrie bestaat een veelvoud aan technieken waarin elke fabrikant zijn eigen ‘ recept ‘ kent en er zelfs vaak materiaalsoorten worden gecombineerd.
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Aluminium | APET | Cellulose | Courant Papier | CPET | EPS | Ersatz Papier | HDPE | Karton | Kraft Papier | LDPE | LLDPE | MDPE | Natronkraft papier | PE | PET | PETG | PP | PPE | PS | Vinyl/PVCAluminium
Aluminium vindt zijn weg in de verpakkingenindustrie met name in de vorm van folies & bakjes/schaaltjes. Reden hiervoor is met name dat ze geweldig bestand zijn tegen oventemperaturen. Aluminium is niet een goedkope verpakkings-gron
Plastic isn’t as simple as you may think. Each one of them is different from the others. Some of them are reusable, the others produce hazardous material after several uses. Some are easily recyclable, others need more sophisticated and intricate handlings in its recycling process.
Sommige kan je hergebruiken, andere zijn goed recyclebaar en een enkeling is
Plastic komt in vele vormen voor. Sommige zijn herbruikbaar, andere kan je goed recyclen en een aantal zijn ronduit gevaarlijk. Over wat voor plastic je ook spreekt het kost heel wat geld en moeite om deze goed te scheiden.
Gelukkig zijn veel Nederlanders goed in scheiden. Zo wordt maar liefst 85% (dat is zo’n 14 kg per persoon per jaar) van het plastic afval al succesvol apart ingezameld. Slechts 15% (2,5 kg) plastic afval belandt bij het restafval. Dit laatste restant wordt uiteindelijk door heel geavanceerde machine verwijderd.
Als je goed kijkt vind je op plastic producten een van onderstaande Resin Identificatie nummer. Door altijd even op zoek te gaan naar dit nummer kan je plastic afval perfect scheiden. Nog beter zou zijn als je bij aankoop van een product er al naar kijkt. Want sommige van hen kan je maar beter vermijden omdat ze nauwelijks of slecht kunnen worden gerecycled.
| Resin Identificatie nummer | Naam | Producten |
| 1 | polyethylene terephthalate (PET / PETE) | drankflessen, bekers, andere verpakkingen, etc. |
| 2 | high-density polyethylene (HDPE) | flessen, bekers, melkkannen, etc |
| 3 | polyvinyl chloride (PVC) | buizen, gevelbekleding, vloeren, etc. |
| 4 | low-density polyethylene (LDPE) | plastic zakken, sixpack-ringen, slangen, enz. |
| 5 | polypropylene (PP) | auto-onderdelen, industriële vezels, voedselcontainers, enz. |
| 6 | polystyrene (PS) | plastic keukengerei, piepschuim, cafetaria-dienbladen, enz. |
| 7 | andere plastics zoals acrylic, nylon, polycarbonate en polylactic acid (PLA). | Flessen, plastic houttoepassingen, koplamplenzen en veiligheidsschilden / brillen. |
Wij onderscheiden dus 7 verschillende plastics
1 – Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or PETE or Polyester)
PET wordt vaak gebruikt in de voeding en dranken industrie omdat deze kunststof lang mee gaat en erg flexibel is waardoor het niet snel kapot gaan en makkelijke meerdere keren kan worden gebruikt. Bovendien is de kunststof heel helder en is het uitstekend in staat om zuurstof buiten en kooldioxide in koolzuurhoudende dranken binnen te houden. Zo blijft het eten langer goed en hou je prik in de limonade.
Tot slot is PET 100% recyclebaar! Allemaal mooie mogelijkheden dus, maar zoals met alle goede dingen komt dit tegen een prijs, dit is een relatief duurdere kunststofsoort.
Bovendien is PET 100% recyclebaar maar het is een relatief dure plastic. Daarnaast bevat het de kankerverwekkende stof antimoontrioxide die bij slechte verbranding vrij komt.
2 – High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
HDPE is heel dicht van structuur en daardoor sterker en veelal dikker dan PET. Het HDPE wordt vaak gebruikt als boodschappentas, sapcontainer, shampoofles en medicijnenfles. HDPE is net als PET goed recyclebaar.
Not only recyclable, HDPE is relatively more stable than PET. It is considered as a safer option for food and drinks use, although some studies have shown that it can leach estrogen-mimicking additive chemicals that could disrupt human’s hormonal system when exposed to ultraviolet light.
3 – Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
PVC is typically used in toys, blister wrap, cling wrap, detergent bottles, loose-leaf binders, blood bags and medical tubing. PVC or vinyl used to be the second most widely used plastic resin in the world (after polyethylene), before the manufacture and disposal process of PVC has been declared as the cause of serious health risks and environmental pollution issues.
In the term of toxicity, PVC is considered as the most hazardous plastic. The use of it may leach a variety of toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, lead, dioxins, mercury, and cadmium. Several of the chemicals mentioned may cause cancer; it could also cause allergic symptoms in children and disrupt the human’s hormonal system. PVS is also rarely accepted by recycling programs. This is why PVC is better best to be avoided at all cost.
4 – Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
As said before, Polyethylenes are the most used family of plastics in the world. This type of plastic has the simplest plastic polymer chemical structure, making it very easy and very cheap to process. LDPE polymers have significant chain branching including long side chains making it less dense and less crystalline (structurally ordered) and thus a generally thinner more flexible form of polyethylene.
LDPE is mostly used for bags (grocery, dry cleaning, bread, frozen food bags, newspapers, garbage), plastic wraps; coatings for paper milk cartons and hot & cold beverage cups; some squeezable bottles (honey, mustard), food storage containers, container lids. Also used for wire and cable covering.
Although some studies have shown that LDPE could also cause unhealthy hormonal effects in humans, LDPE is considered as a safer plastic option for food and drink use. Unfortunately, this type of plastic is quite difficult to be recycled.
5 – Polypropylene (PP)
Stiffer and more resistant to heat, PP is widely used for hot food containers. Its strength quality is somewhere between LDPE and HDPE. Besides in thermal vests, and car parts, PP is also included in the disposable diaper and sanitary pad liners.
Same as LDPE, PP is considered a safer plastic option for food and drink use. And although it bears all those amazing qualities, PP isn’t quite recyclable and could also cause asthma and hormone disruption in human.
6 – Polystyrene (PS)
Polystyrene is the Styrofoam we all commonly used for food containers, egg cartons, disposable cups and bowls, packaging, and also bike helmet. When exposed with hot and oily food, PS could leach styrene that is considered as brain and nervous system toxicant, it could also affect genes, lungs, liver, and immune system. On top of all of those risks, PS has a low recycling rate.
7 – Other
Number 7 is for all plastics other than those identified by number 1-6 and also plastics that may be layered or mixed with other types of plastics, such as bioplastics. Polycarbonate (PC) is the most common plastic in this category, isn’t used as much in recent years due to it being associated with bisphenol A (BPA). PC is also known by various name: Lexan, Makrolon, and Makroclear. Ironically, PC is typically used for baby bottles, sippy cups, water bottles, water gallon, metal food can liner, ketchup container, and dental sealants. Due to its toxicity, several countries have banned the use of PC for baby bottles and infant formula packaging.
The BPA that contained inside PC have been linked to numerous health problems including chromosome damage in female ovaries, decreased sperm production in males, early onset of puberty, various behavioural changes, altered immune function, sex reversal in frogs, impaired brain and neurological functions, cardiovascular system damage, adult-onset (Type II) diabetes, obesity, resistance to chemotherapy, increased risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, infertility, and metabolic disorders.
Added with its very low recycle rate quality, PC is to be avoided at all cost.
3 Important Things!
Memorizing all of those 7 different types of plastic could be overwhelming, so here are several key points you need to remember:
- Though it varies between types, every single category of plastic could leach hazardous materials if put in an extreme situation such as extreme heat.
- 3 types of plastic that are considered as safer options among the others are Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), High-Density Polyethylene (2-HDPE), and Polypropylene (5-PP).
- Although the experts are currently working on inventing the best method and strategy to recycle all of those types of plastic, the 2 types of plastic that are mostly picked up by the recycling programs are Polyethylene Terephthalate (1-PET) and High-Density Polyethylene (2-HDPE).
We hope you now know what type of plastic you want to use as your food and drink containers and what plastic you may want to avoid due to its low recycle rate quality. Don’t forget to separate your wastes responsibly. Don’t mix the organics with non-organics; do segregate the glass from the paper and plastic. It’ll help with the recycling process!
