2 HDPE
The item is made of high-density polyethylene. The 2 and the letters HDPE identify the plastic for sorting; they say nothing about whether it is collected.
- Material
- High-density polyethylene
- Code
- 2 HDPE
- Family
- Plastics
- Defined by
- Decision 97/129/EC Annex I and ASTM D7611
Which bin, usually
Usually the household plastics or mixed-recycling bin for bottles such as milk and detergent bottles. HDPE bags and thin film usually do not go in the household bin: the US EPA says plastic bags and film 'cannot go in your household recycling bin' and that shops often take them back; UK supermarkets run front-of-store film collection points.
Whether this goes in your recycling depends on your local collection; check your council or municipality's sorting guide.
The material
High-density polyethylene (HDPE), the stiff, usually opaque polyethylene of milk and detergent bottles.
Where you see it
Milk bottles, bottles for detergent, shampoo and cosmetics, and some carrier bags (ASTM's examples); also many bottle caps and household-cleaner bottles.
What it does not mean
A 2 on a carrier bag and a 2 on a milk bottle name the same plastic, but the bag and the bottle are usually handled in different ways.
A resin code names the plastic; it is not a recycling promise. ASTM D7611 says resin identification codes 'are not “recycle codes”' and that using one 'does not imply that the article is recycled or that there are systems in place' to process it. That is why the 2013 revision of D7611 replaced the chasing arrows with a plain solid triangle, 'commonly associated with recycling' as the arrows were. In the US the FTC treats a code as a recyclable claim only when it is shown conspicuously, next to the product name; moulded into the base 'without more', it is not one (16 CFR 260.12, Example 2).
Other ways it is printed
- HDPE under a 2 in a triangle of arrows
- 2 in a plain solid triangle (ASTM D7611 form)
- PE-HD, the international abbreviation
- 02 or HDPE 2
- >PE-HD< moulded into a part
Other plastics codes
Sources
- Commission Decision 97/129/EC of 28 January 1997 establishing the identification system for packaging materials (OJ L 50, 20.2.1997), as adopted — UK National Archives copy (Annex I: High density polyethylene, HDPE, 2) — checked 2026-09-23
- ASTM D7611/D7611M-26, Standard Practice for Coding Plastic Manufactured Articles for Resin Identification — catalogue page (scope, significance and use) (Section 4.2) — checked 2026-09-23
- ASTM Standardization News, 2013: Modernizing the Resin Identification Code (the solid-triangle revision, and what each resin is used for) (Uses of HDPE; PE-HD as an alternative abbreviation; The 2013 change from chasing arrows to a solid triangle) — checked 2026-09-23
- US EPA: How Do I Recycle Common Recyclables (Plastic bags, wraps and films) — checked 2026-09-23
- Worcestershire County Council: Recycling symbols explained (Film and bags taken back at large supermarkets) — checked 2026-09-23
- 16 CFR 260.12 Recyclable claims (US FTC Green Guides), eCFR (Example 2: when a resin code counts as a recyclable claim) — checked 2026-09-23
Written in our own words from these public texts and checked on the date shown. ASTM D7611 and ISO 14021 are sold by their publishers; only their public catalogue text is used here.