Plastic toy production—Recycling classification of plastics

To facilitate the recycling of plastics, the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (USA) proposes a labeling system that uses plastic types to classify: “Resin Identification Code” (often translated as “plastic” Material code” or “plastic code”). Recyclable plastic containers are accompanied by a triangular label surrounded by three arrows, which indicate the type of plastic.

Decomposable plastic

Knives, forks and spoons made from degradable starch plastic. Main article: Biodegradable plastic

Decomposable plastic can decompose in the sun. Starch is also added to plastics to make it more susceptible to biodegradation, but the decomposition is still incomplete. Some people use genetically modified bacteria to produce fully biodegradable plastics, but the cost is still high. BASF has developed a biodegradable plastic called Ecoflex for food packaging. The above decomposable plastics are rarely used due to cost issues. This plastic must be exposed to air to decompose, so if it is buried, it will still cause solid waste problems.