American Recycling

Roughly 60 percent of the U.S. population - about 148 million people - have access to a plastics recycling program.

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that use of plastic foam insulation in homes and buildings each year could save over 60 million barrels of oil over other kinds of insulation.

Since 1977, the 2-liter plastic soft drink bottle has gone from weighing 68 grams to just 47 grams today, representing a 31 percent reduction per bottle. That saved more than 180 million pounds of packaging in 2006 for just 2-liter soft drink bottles.

• Resin Identification Codes Chart
• Plastics Division (American Chemistry Council)
• IDES - Industry resources, including the Prospector Search engine for plastic material datasheets.
• US EPA's Plastic Page