By Trish Smith - Follow me on Twitter

What makes plastic so fantastic? Maybe because there are over 10,000 different types of plastic, and it's used in everything, including credit cards, cell phones, toys and clothing! Let's just say that if we didn't have plastic, which means "fit for molding" in Greek, we wouldn't have many of the things that we use every day. Plastic is like a gift that keeps on giving.

But is plastic really helping us in our daily lives? Maybe we wouldn't have a lot of things if plastic wasn't around, but according to GreenUpgrader, we also wouldn't have over 30 million pounds of plastic water bottles in our crowded landfills every year.

Can you imagine, or would you even want to imagine, just how much of that plastic waste is overflowing into our rivers and streams? Well it's true because a single American consumes about 167 water bottles a year.

What Exactly is Plastic?
Plastic is basically a complex organic compound that uses polymerization (a type of chemical compound) to mold itself into various shapes and forms. That's why in one minute, you see plastic perfectly molded into the contours of an oversized SUV, and the next minute you see it in the hands of your little brother as a miniature tractor.

It was developed by Englishman Alexander Parks in 1855. Just by mixing nitric acid, alcohol and a few other compounds, he created a material that won him a bronze medal at the 1862 World's Fair in London. And the rest is history.

In American history, after World War I, advancements in technology made it possible to manufacture different types of plastic. The good thing about this was that there were some types of plastic created that could be recycled and reused again. The problem was finding a way to let people know what plastic could be recycled.

To solve the problem, in 1988 The Society of the Plastics Industry, the third largest manufacturing industry in the U.S., created a universal symbol code that legally had to be placed on all plastic products. This symbol showed consumers what they could and couldn't recycle.

The Symbol Code
The resin identification code, also known as the universal plastic symbol code, uses numbers 1-7 to identify the type of polymer that is used in the plastic container. These numbers are placed on the bottom of the product. Even though knowing the first seven single numbers in a row may be easy, it's not always easy to remember the numbers you can recycle. So here they are:

Easy to Recycle

Number 1 - Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), is usually clear and is used in:

• Soda bottles
• Water bottles
• Salad dressing containers
• Plastic food jars
• Mouthwash containers

Number 2 - High density polyethylene (HDPE), is used in heavier containers like:

• Milk jugs
• Laundry detergent containers
• Shampoo bottles
• Snack food containers
• Detergent bottles

NOT Easy to Recycle

Number 3 - Polyvinyl chloride (V or Vinyl PVC), is used in:

• Pipe fittings
• Medical tubing
• Cooking oil bottles
• Shower curtains

Number 4 - Low density polyethylene (LDPE), is used in:

• Squeezable ketchup and mustard bottles
• Grocery bags
• Plastic wrapping paper
• Sandwich bags

Number 5 - Polypropylene (PP), is used in:

• Tupperware containers
• Tubs of butter
• Pancake syrup bottles
• Yogurt containers

Number 6 - Polystyrene (PS), is used in:

• Styrofoam containers
• Egg cartons
• Packing peanuts
• Disposable cups
• Take-out food containers

Number 7 – All other plastics, which include:

• Baby bottles
• Cell phones
• CDs
• Sippy cups
• Sports water bottles

Want to learn more? Check out Life Without Plastic, a cool site that raises awareness about plastic issues.

How to Recycle Plastic
Now that you know plastic numbers 1 and 2 are the easiest containers to recycle, what do you do with them? You follow a few easy steps:

1. Before throwing away your plastic container, check the number on the bottom of it before throwing it away. If it says 1 or 2, set it aside.
2. Rinse out the container completely and throw away the lid, unless your state offers container deposit refunds (in which you can get some money back). Here's a complete list of refunding states on The Bottle Bill Resource Guide.
3. Take the recycled plastic products to the nearest recycling center (which you can find at Earth911.com), or find out if your city has curbside pickup for recycling and put them in a bin to get picked up.

Once the plastic is shipped to a recovery facility, it's shredded and melted into new recycled plastic containers. Then it's ready for us to use again!

That sounds as easy as 1-2-3, right? Of course it does, and that's why you should do your part to help protect the planet. By recycling plastic, you can give true meaning to "a gift that keeps on giving."

If you're still not convinced that recycling plastic is important, here's a Plastic Recycling Video on YouTube that might change your mind: