Low-density polyethylene, or No. 4 LDPE, is used in shopping bags, six-pack rings, hard drive casings, CD and DVD cases, and some bottles. Unlike PVC, LDPE isn't regarded as a "bad" plastic by most eco-watchdogs. Potentially toxic industrial chemicals involved in its manufacture, however, include butane, benzene, and vinyl acetate.
A common environmental horror story is that of six-pack rings strangling birds and sea turtles. But for 19 years federal law has required six-pack rings to break down when exposed to the sun. The plastics industry has tried to make the rings easier to break apart by adding perforations.
Plastic bags, made of LDPE or HDPE, are increasingly frowned upon by green-minded people. San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban them in big grocery stores. The plastics industry has argued that recycling the bags can mitigate their potential damage, but bag takeback programs at retail stores remain few and far between.
Photo by Corinne Schulze/CNET News.com
Caption by Elsa Wenzel
