You can recycle #5 plastic in California through curbside programs, but only the rigid kind: bottles, jars, tubs, cups, lids, plates, and trays made of polypropylene. Flexible #5 items like film wrappers, bags, and plastic utensils do not belong in the blue bin, even though they carry the same number.1CalRecycle. Covered Material Category (CMC) List December 2023
What Counts as Recyclable #5 Plastic
CalRecycle evaluates specific product types rather than treating “#5” as a single category. Under its Covered Material Category list, these rigid polypropylene items are considered potentially recyclable:
- Bottles, jugs, and jars
- Thermoformed containers, cups, plates, and trays
- Tubs and lids
- Other rigid #5 items
These are not recyclable through standard California collection:
- Plastic utensils
- Clear non-bag film
- Other flexible and film #5 items
The rigid-versus-flexible line matters more than the resin number. A yogurt tub and a polypropylene chip bag are both #5, but only the tub belongs in the bin.1CalRecycle. Covered Material Category (CMC) List December 2023
Tossing flexible polypropylene into your recycling because it has a #5 doesn’t help; it contaminates the rigid polypropylene that facilities can actually process. When contamination climbs, whole loads can get diverted to landfill.
How to Identify #5 Plastic
Look for a “5” molded into the bottom or side of the container, usually inside a triangle. In California, what that triangle looks like is about to carry real meaning.
Under the Accurate Recycling Labels law (SB 343), manufacturers can only place the resin number inside the familiar chasing-arrows triangle if the product meets California’s statewide recyclability criteria. Products that don’t qualify must use a plain triangle.2California Legislative Information. California Code PRC 18015 For products manufactured after October 4, 2026, a #5 inside chasing arrows means the item has been verified as recyclable in California; a #5 inside a plain triangle signals the opposite.3CalRecycle. SB 343 Accurate Recycling Labels
A product earns the chasing-arrows label only if it meets infrastructure-based criteria: the material must be collected by programs serving at least 60 percent of California’s population and sorted into defined streams by processors serving at least 60 percent of those programs. A demonstrated recycling rate above 75 percent also qualifies a product automatically.4California Legislative Information. California Code PRC 42355.51
How to Prep a #5 Container for the Bin
Empty the container and give it a quick rinse. A few seconds of water to clear yogurt, sauce, or grease is enough; you don’t need to scrub it spotless. The goal is to keep food from spoiling other recyclables during sorting and storage.
Leave the cap on. Modern sorting equipment handles attached caps well, and a loose cap is more likely to fall through screens and end up in landfill. Labels can stay on too. Hot-wash processing at recycling facilities separates labels and adhesives from the polypropylene.
Your local hauler may have slightly different rules, so if you’re unsure about something specific, check their website.
Get a CRV Refund for #5 Beverage Bottles
If your #5 item is a beverage container, you can skip the curbside bin and get a California Redemption Value refund by taking it to a recycling center. CRV-eligible plastic beverage containers include bottles for water, juice, soda, tea, coffee drinks, beer, and wine coolers. The refund is 5 cents for containers under 24 ounces and 10 cents for containers 24 ounces or larger.5CalRecycle. Beverage Container Recycling
CalRecycle’s locator tool lets you search by county for CRV redemption sites and other public recycling locations.6CalRecycle. Where to Recycle
Check Your Local Program
Rigid #5 plastic is broadly accepted across California, but specific collection rules are set by your city or county waste hauler. The fastest way to confirm what belongs in your bin is to check their website. Most list accepted materials and flag local quirks, like whether lids must stay attached. If online instructions aren’t clear, call the hauler. They field these questions constantly and can give you a definitive answer for your address.
What’s Changing in California Recycling
Two laws will reshape what you see on #5 products and what gets accepted at the curb.
SB 343 takes full effect for products and packaging manufactured after October 4, 2026, meaning the chasing-arrows symbol becomes a reliable signal rather than a marketing choice.3CalRecycle. SB 343 Accurate Recycling Labels
SB 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, requires producers of single-use packaging and plastic food service ware to hit escalating recycling rate targets: at least 30 percent by January 1, 2028, 40 percent by 2030, and 65 percent by 2032. By 2032, all covered packaging sold in California must be recyclable or compostable. Starting in 2027, producers must collectively pay a $500 million annual surcharge into the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund, and they must cut plastic packaging weight by 25 percent by 2032.7LegiScan. Bill Text CA SB54 Chaptered
For a household sorting the recycling, that means two practical shifts: labels on #5 products will get more trustworthy after October 2026, and the range of polypropylene items accepted curbside is likely to expand over the next several years as producers invest in collection and processing to meet SB 54’s targets.