For years, I’ve had it in my head that the only plastics one can recycle are #1 and #2. I’ve harped on this notion many a time upon finding those pesky #6s in the recycling bin. And I’ve mourned the fact that large yogurt containers, of which I buy several per month, are #5s. (Though I didn’t recycle them, I couldn’t bring myself to throw most of them away, either. There are currently about six of them holding compost scraps in my fridge. And they make decent pots for tomato seedlings, too.)
Then I drive into the McIntire Recycling Center, and what do I behold?
Hallelujah!
As I seem to be rather late finding out, McIntire now takes all grades of plastic. A helpful brochure found on site explains that #1 and #2 plastics are still separated out, but the expanded plastics program means that butter and yogurt tubs, medicine bottles, Styrofoam, detergent bottles, bubble wrap, and lots of other formerly unrecyclable stuff is now kosher.
Come to think of it, I think my home county of Nelson may also accept more types of plastic than I thought. I brought the #1-and-#2-only habit with me when I moved here, but it looks like that was a bad assumption on my part.
Great news, right?