Preserve does recycle, but first and foremost, we are a sustainable consumer products company. We make everyday household products like toothbrushes, cups and plates, cutting boards and food storage containers. We use sustainable design principles and 100% recycled materials to make all of our products. Because so many communities do not collect and recycle #5s, we created our own recycling program to allow more people to recycle their #5s. We use those recycled yogurt cups and other #5s in our products. You can find Preserve products at a wide variety of retail locations.

How do I participate in Gimme 5?

Through our Gimme 5 recycling program, we accept all stamped, clean #5 plastic—any brand, any product. We will sort and recycle your #5 items to give them new life as Preserve products. (Please do make sure the plastic is clean, as it makes the sorting process much easier and more pleasant for our partners who sort.)

You can drop off your #5 plastic at many Whole Foods Markets and other select retail locations, listed here.

Ask the store where their Gimme 5 bin is located and drop your #5s in!

If there is not a Gimme 5 location in your area, you can also mail your #5s to: Preserve Gimme 5

How do I get my Whole Foods store to participate in Gimme 5?

The best thing you can do (and we've seen this strategy work!) is to stop by your local Whole Foods store and talk to someone at the customer service desk. Let them know that you'd like them to join the program and that they can contact us to make that happen. We've made a number of attempts to get every Whole Foods store in the country involved with the program but it's taking some stores longer than others to decide to go for it.

We're working to expand the program and get it into more stores. As you can imagine, it's not inexpensive to run this program so it will take us some time to get it to all of the places where we'd like to be.

What #5s do you/don’t you accept?

Good question. We will accept any stamped, clean #5. Of course, some #5 plastic is easier to use than others. We prefer rigid containers (like yogurt, food storage, etc) and other approved #5s (like Brita water pitcher filters and Preserve products--for a list, check out.

Unfortunately, the material properties of #5 film (used in bags, for example) are quite different than for rigid #5 plastic (in dairy containers, for example). We're currently unable to recycle #5 film.

I love the Gimme 5 program!

We’re so glad to hear it! Your participation in Gimme 5 allows your #5 plastics to be reborn into new, useful products, instead of ending up in a landfill or burned for energy! Don’t forget to tell your friends about Gimme 5. You can become a fan of Preserve products on Facebook and let your friends know about our products and the Gimme 5 program. To find Preserve on Facebook, click here.

My community collects #5s. Why would I want to save them and give them to Preserve?

Here's why: With the Preserve Gimme 5 program we sort your plastics and ensure that they are recycled. Many towns and communities that collect #5 are struggling with economics that force them to mix #5s with other plastics. This mixed plastic bale is of limited value and is often shipped overseas to an unknown end of life. Hopefully our program demonstrates to towns and companies that #5s can be recycled into new products!

I don’t live near a Gimme 5 retail location. I’d like to mail some #5 plastic but why doesn’t Preserve pay for shipping?

Nothing would make us happier than to be able to pay the shipping for every person willing to collect, clean, pack, and send their used #5 plastic to us. However, as a small, rapidly-growing company, we do not have the financial wherewithal to finance this type of program. We are doing everything we can to help consumers divert plastic from landfills, but the shipping costs for a mail-back recycling program are prohibitively expensive.

We hope that Gimme 5 will draw attention to the sheer volume of #5 that is being sent to landfills. Eventually there may be more efficient, cost effective ways to collect and recycle #5.

A number of Whole Foods Markets and a few other stores have partnered with us to host Gimme 5 collection bins. (A list of these stores is available here) The efficiencies found in gathering hundreds of pounds of plastic at a time, coupled with support from sponsors, makes this program cost-effective for us. As we learn from this program, we hope to expand it to additional retailers.

We absolutely understand why you may choose not to mail your #5 plastic back to us. We’ve made the Gimme 5 mail-back program available because there are individuals who are frustrated by their inability to recycle locally, and are willing to partner with us to assume some of the costs of recycling.

Can I drop off my # 5 plastics in Cortland, NY?

Unfortunately, we are unable to accept drop-offs in Cortland. The reception area at the facility there is quite small, and they’re not equipped to handle drop-offs. We know this is frustrating for would-be recyclers in the Cortland area, and we are working on an alternative drop-off location – perhaps at a local retailer.

For now, you can mail your recyclables here:
Preserve Gimme 5
823 NYS Rte 13
Cortland, NY 13045.

Please also keep an eye out for more information about another drop-off location in your area.

I am a retailer and I’d like to bring Gimme 5 to my store.

We launched the program in January 2009 and are very excited that it's garnered such an enthusiastic response from individuals and retailers alike. We hope to expand it beyond Whole Foods Market into additional retailers, and possibly into schools and other community-based locations. However, Preserve Gimme 5 is still new and we have a lot to learn about the back-end logistics of the program. To grow it in a sustainable way, we are taking some time to assess program success before we grow beyond the current network.

  You're welcome to start collecting #5 plastics and mail them to our sorting facility in New York. More information is here.

I want to start Preserve Gimme 5 at my school/community center/church.

We are glad to hear that you are excited about recycling #5s!

We know of a few other schools and other locations that are doing exactly what you’re describing. Unfortunately, we don’t have extra recycling bins that we can send you but you can click here to print out signs to attach to homemade bins (you might use large cardboard boxes or reuse an old trash can, for example).

Your best bet is to visit your local Whole Foods store and ask them if you can drop your collected #5s at their store for them to add to those they’re already collecting via Preserve Gimme 5. You also can send all of your #5s to our collection facility at Preserve Gimme 5.

We’d love to see a photo when you get your program up and running! Please stay in touch.

Can I recycle other brands of water filters (other than Brita pitcher filters)?

Unfortunately we’re only able to recycle Brita water pitcher filters. Since we don’t know exactly what other companies use to manufacture their filters, non-Brita water pitcher filters risk contaminating our supply of #5 plastic. Brita, on the other hand, has shared all of the information on what is in their filters and how they make them and we’ve worked together to make them recyclable.

Do you accept Brita refrigerator/faucet filters?

We currently only recycle Brita water pitcher filters. Unfortunately we cannot recycle the Brita sink and refrigerator filters because they are not made from the same #5 plastic as the water pitcher filters.

Do you accept #5s with labels on them?

We ask that all #5s are clean before you drop them off as leftover food makes for a messy sorting process. If your #5s have labels on them, the best way to remove the label is to soak it in hot water. This should help dissolve the adhesive and make it easier to take off the label. We appreciate your help in doing this, since paper labels are the hardest contaminant for us to handle during the recycling process!

Will you accept lids and caps?

We can only accept lids, caps and other items if they’re stamped with a #5 recycling symbol to indicate their recyclability. Unfortunately, not all lids and caps are #5 plastic. Most lids and caps are actually not stamped #5 and therefore we cannot accept them in the Gimme 5 program. However, select Seventh Generation screw-on caps are acceptable in the Gimme 5 program including the caps of their containers of fabric softener, 4X liquid laundry and automatic dishwasher gel. We have been able to work with Seventh Generation through their support of the Gimme 5 program to specifically identify which of their product packaging is #5 plastic-based and accepted for recycling in the Gimme 5 program.

Will you accept medicine bottles?

We do accept prescription medicine containers--so long as they're clearly stamped with a #5 recycling symbol. If they have a sticker or paper label on them, please make your best attempt to remove it (soaking in water helps) before dropping it in a Preserve Gimme 5 bin or sending it to us. We appreciate your help since paper labels are the hardest contaminant for us to handle during the recycling process!

Do you accept CD/DVD cases?

Unfortunately, most CD and DVD cases have a film on them to hold the graphics that is not #5. They also often have certain additives that can contaminate our #5 plastic supply. This means we cannot accept CD or DVD cases for recycling.

I have toothbrushes to recycle.

If they’re Preserve toothbrushes (adult or Jr.), you can drop them in your nearest Preserve Gimme 5 bin or mail them to us for recycling. Unfortunately, because we don’t know what materials are used in toothbrushes made by other companies (and because they generally use multiple materials), we cannot recycle them.

I want to recycle my Preserve toothbrush in the UK.

Our distribution partner in the UK accepts Preserve toothbrushes and packaging for recycling. The address is: Kinetic, PO BOX 64350, London, NW6 9NZ.

How clean does my #5 plastic need to be before I drop it off or mail it to you?

It’s a great question! Essentially clean means nothing that will contaminate the batch and make it unusable. They don’t have to be pristine but they should be pretty clean - think of something that you wouldn’t mind handling in five weeks, because that’s what we will be doing when we sort your #5s after it makes its way back to us!

Will you accept #5 plastic bags or film through Preserve Gimme 5?

Unfortunately, those plastic bags and other plastic films have different material properties than more rigid #5 plastic like yogurt cups and take-out containers. At this time, we’re unable to recycle film like the plastic sleeves that flowers are shipped in.

Do you accept any product packaging from Seventh Generation?

We accept Seventh Generation baby wipe containers and select screw-on caps from Seventh Generation containers including those from their containers of fabric softener, 4X liquid laundry and automatic dishwasher gel (note: they may not be stamped with a #5 recycling symbol).

Stay posted on the impact you’re making by joining Gimme 5.