Just Recycle...

2...6...4...7... No, this isn't a quarterback's call before the snap. It's a few of the seven different classifications assigned to plastics to describe their composition.

The numbers, bordered a chasing arrow symbol, can be found on an inconspicuous spot on most every piece of plastic packaging and some merchandise you find. Numbered 1 through 7, they represent the wide variety of plastic formulations that comprise consumer packaging and indicate to recyclers the process to be used for melting them back down into plastic soup.

The numbers reveal something else too – the toxicity of the packaging that will invariably come into contact with your skin, as well as with things you will touch, apply and even ingest.

Following is a list of the seven categories of plastic, along with their relative danger to you. No matter the number, however, be sure to put your plastics in recycling bins. Even if your local recycler doesn't currently take a specific number, if they receive enough of it, they're apt to change their ways.

Poly(ethylene terephthalate): Soda bottles, water bottles, vinegar bottles, medicine containers, backing for photography film. About a billion pounds of phthlates per year are produced worldwide. That new car smell that's especially pungent after the car has been sitting in the sun for a few hours, is partly the pungent odor of phthalates volatilizing from a hot plastic dashboard. In the evening's cool they then condense out of the inside air of the car to form an oily coating on the inside of the windshield. Phthalates have been linked to the in utero demasculinizing of male embyos. However, in the grand scheme, Poly's are on the safer side of plastics.

High-density Polyethylene: Containers for: laundry/dish detergent, fabric softeners, bleach, milk, shampoo, conditioner, motor oil. Newer bullet proof vests, various toys. Polyethylene has recently been discovered in milk sold in plastic containers. Get yours (organic, of course) in cardboard. Again, not quite as toxic as some of its cousins.

Poly(vinyl cloride): Pipes, shower curtains, meat wraps, cooking oil bottles, baby bottle nipples, shrink wrap, clear medical tubing, vinyl dashboards and seat covers, coffee containers. PVC becomes chemically active when heated. We strongly recommend not heating food in any kind of plastic container, but especially those made with PVC. PVC incineration leads to the emission of dioxins, a known carcinogen.

Low-density Polyethylene: Wrapping films, grocery bags, sandwich bags. As with PVC, Low-density Polyethylene degrades when heated, especially over about 120º. However, at room temperature it's relatively safe.

Polypropylene: Tupperware®, syrup bottles, yogurt tubs, diapers, outdoor carpet. This is one of the safer numbers on the scale, acceptable for use in baby bottles.

Polystyrene: Coffee cups, disposable cutlery and cups (clear and colored), bakery shells, meat trays, "cheap" hubcaps, packing peanuts, styrofoam insulation. According to the EPA, short-term styrene exposure at levels above the Maximum Contaminant Level (used to set drinking-water standards) can cause nervous-system effects such as loss of concentration, weakness, and nausea. Long-term exposure can cause liver and nerve damage and cancer.

Products labeled as "other" are made of any combination of 1-6 or another, less commonly used plastic, including polycarbonates. The effects of low-dose Bisphenol-A (BPA) exposure on laboratory animals found significant effects, including alterations to brain chemistry and structure, behavior, the immune system, and male and female reproductive systems.