We don’t recommend the recycling of the Black Berkey Purification Elements or PF-2s. The shells of the Berkey PF-2™ are made of Polypropylene, which is Recycle Code 5. Uses of Polypro (for short) include ketchup bottles, yogurt containers, margarine tubs & medicine bottles. However, there is no recycle code for the Berkey PF-2™ elements. A recycle code cannot be assigned since the element is sealed and contains material inside for arsenic & fluoride reduction. To recycle, one would have to cut the element open and remove the material before recycling the plastic shell.
The same issue applies to the Black Berkey Purification Elements. The complex matrix of materials used within the media of the Black Berkey Purification Elements does not allow the elements to be easily classified by a single recycle code. In addition, with both of these types of elements, there is no way of knowing what contaminants are in the media after use. Please put them in your regular trash.