Plastic Recycling Gets Easier

Few communities offer curbside collection of number-5 polypropylene plastics—commonly used for ketchup bottles, yogurt and hummus containers, straws, and Tupperware—because recyclers often don’t accept the stuff.

Solution: Gimme 5, a program launched by Preserve, the leading maker of 100 percent recycled products, along with Stonyfield Organic, Organic Valley Family of Farms, and Whole Foods Markets.

Consumers can drop off washed number-5 plastic at select Whole Foods Markets in the Midwest, Northeast, Northern California, and Florida, or mail them to Preserve. The products will be recycled into toothbrushes and razors. Locations and mailing instructions are here.