I have been recycling since long before it was in vogue. My husband's always asking me, "can this be recycled?" and I'm known for yelling at people if they put things in the trash that can be recycled. I even came up with a idea for the invention of a small recycling/trash can combo for bathrooms and bedrooms. Any companies out there looking for such a clever idea? Anyways, though I can tell you which plastics can go in the big purple bin in Long Beach, (which by the way is now 1-7, go City of Long Beach!) I have never known which plastics are safe to use. There has been a big scare about BPA lately and I just noticed that my water bottle that I drink out of all day everyday is made of polycarbonate plastic, great! Sometimes I hate all the information that we have. I recently came across this article from Seventh Generation's newsletter. Now I know that I should stay away from #3, #6 and some #7 plastics. Others readings have indicated to me that there is evidence to suggest that #1 is also unsafe, especially when subjected to heat. I'd definitely recommend reading the article, it's short and very interesting. With all of the information we have now, I try to be an informed, but not a scared, consumer. My feeling is that we can do our best to protect our families within reason and then we must just live. We are blessed to have the luxury of choosing what we consume.