#1 Plastic Bottles

Teton County crushes and bales the plastic bottles into large cubes and sells them to a plastic recycler. 

Lids are a different type of plastic than #1 bottles. Contamination decreases the value of the baled plastic bottles. 

Although a #1 plastic bottle and #1 food container have the same logo and both start out as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic resin, they've gone through different processes to become a bottle and food container. 

Teton County, Idaho, sells #1 plastic bottles to a buyer who only purchases drink bottles because the majority of beverage bottles in the U.S. come from three manufacturers, so the buyer is getting a known quality of PET materials. The buyer has a 0.5% contamination standard, meaning all lids must be removed, although the plastic rim can remain because it is under the 0.5% mark.

These plastic containers are nearly impossible to thoroughly clean. The oily residue contaminates our recycling, which decreases it's value and attracts wildlife. Any peanut butter containers or oil bottles will be removed by staff and thrown away. 

Bring #1 plastic bottles to the recycling area at the Transfer Station or put them in your RAD Curbside bin.