LDPE (low density polyethylene) - 04

LDPE Symbol 4

Guidance

You might be surprised to know that we don't use plastic resin identification codes to decide if something can be recycled. In fact, our recycling contract with the company that separates the recycling (Biffa) includes a long list of items that can be recycled, not a list of plastic types. Read more about this in our article Do plastic codes tell you if something is recyclable? (opens in a new window).

To check if something is recyclable, either search for the individual item on our A-Z function (opens in a new window), or check on our recycling page (opens in a new window).

What sort of things are made out of LDPE?

LDPE (low-density polyethene) is a flexible plastic with many applications. LDPE is used to make many thin, flexible products like plastic bags for dry-cleaning, newspapers, bread, frozen foods, fresh produce and rubbish. LDPE can be found in squeeze bottles, toys, carrier bags, heavy-duty sacks, general packaging, gas and water pipes.