P is for ....

Have been wondering for a while about recycling plastic's and have always been confused about those codes that are on plastic products all over the place. I searched the web to try and find a chart of some sort to help me with these codes and I must say that trying to find something that I thought would be useful was quite hard. So in the end I looked onto the Cork county website but no, nothing could I find. Perhaps I wasn't putting in the right words into the search engine but personally I think that information on finding anything that help's the environment appears to be non existent. Of course, it isn't, but I don't think that you should have to trudge through the Internet in vain considering it should be a top priority issue. Information should be easily accessible and easy to find. So I rang up the environment department of the Cork County offices and a spoke to Claire Kelly who I have to say listened carefully to what I was looking for and then went on a hunt to find a "Plastic Identification Chart" for me. Within 15 minutes it was sitting in my email Inbox. Result!

Click on image to print off and keep.

This chart is great because it helps me to see what type of plastic I have in my house already but more importantly what plastics are harder to recycle or can cause some harm by recycling it. I can choose to shop with more care and try to bring less plastic into the house and even eliminate some plastic altogether.

It all comes of having the right information. Apparently there is a chart on the Cork City council website too but I have to say I could not find it easily, or maybe I was having a bad "search" day! I did suggest to Claire that a chart was added to the Cork County website (even though they no longer collect waste themselves) so that people can print of a copy and try to do their bit. This can be popped onto the fridge and held in place with a magnet quite easily, always to hand. Another idea would be to create a smaller version that you can put in your purse and take shopping with you just in case it comes in handy. If I cant find one then I will see if I can put something together and add it here for anyone who wants it. For now though I hope you will find the chart on this blog useful and feel free to print it off for pride of place on the kitchen fridge.

I hope that the chart will be easy for you to download and print off. If you have any issues though please let me know in the comment section below an I will see what I can do.