Conventional plastic
High-density polyethylene (HDPE)
HDPE is the stiff, opaque plastic of milk bottles, detergent and shampoo bottles, and many white chopping boards. It's one of the easiest plastics to recycle in the UK, and it's mostly used cold.
By PlasticFreeHome Research Team · Not yet reviewed by an editor · Updated 21 October 2026
- Also called
- HDPE 2, plastic 2, polythene, PE
- Recycling code
- 2 (HDPE)
- Type
- Conventional plastic
- Found in
- milk bottles, washing-up liquid and detergent bottles, shampoo and shower gel bottles, white chopping boards, bottle caps
- Heat
- Fine at room temperature; not designed for hot food or the microwave.
- Recycling in the UK
- HDPE bottles are widely recycled in the UK, and milk bottles are often recycled back into milk bottles.
What it is
High-density polyethylene is a tougher, stiffer form of polyethylene (polythene). It's opaque or milky white and carries the number 2 in the recycling triangle. It's the plastic of milk bottles, most cleaning and bathroom bottles, and many white chopping boards.
Its softer cousin, low-density polyethylene, is the plastic of bags and films: see LDPE.
Where it touches food and skin
- Milk bottles hold cold milk for a few days. This is a low-heat, short-contact use.
- Chopping boards are the bigger exposure. A 2023 study found polyethylene and polypropylene boards shed measurable microplastics into food as the knife cut into the surface, and older, heavily scored boards are worse. See plastic chopping board → wood.
- Bathroom and cleaning bottles mostly hold products you rinse away. Here the case for swapping is about packaging waste more than exposure. Bars and refills remove the bottle altogether: shampoo → bar, shower gel → soap, washing-up liquid → bar and spray bottles → refills.
How to use it more safely
- Replace plastic chopping boards with wood when they become deeply scored, and use the plastic one, if you keep it, for raw meat you'll cook.
- Don't use HDPE containers for hot food.
- Reuse sturdy HDPE bottles for refills: they're designed to last.
Recycling
HDPE is one of the plastics the UK recycles best. Milk bottles in natural (uncoloured) HDPE have a proven route back into new milk bottles. Rinse bottles, squash them and put the cap back on, unless your council asks otherwise.
Related guides
Sources
Swaps involving HDPE
Plastic chopping board → hardwood board
Knives cut tiny pieces off plastic boards and into your food. A hardwood board avoids that and lasts for years.
High priority · about 200 g of plastic a year
Shower gel bottles → bar soap
The easiest bathroom swap: same job, far less packaging, and usually cheaper.
High priority · about 700 g of plastic a year
Washing-up liquid bottles → dish soap bar or refill
A dish soap bar and a wooden brush replace the bottle entirely.
Worth doing · about 400 g of plastic a year
Single-use cleaning sprays → refillable bottle and concentrate
Keep one good bottle and refill it. Concentrates cut packaging and cost.
Worth doing · about 1.0 kg of plastic a year
Shampoo bottles → shampoo bar
Bars cut bottles entirely. Expect a week or two for your hair to adjust.
Worth doing · about 500 g of plastic a year