It's not the recycling icon. It is a "resin identifier code," and the symbol is meant to resemble the recycling icon in a deliberately deceptive manner while remaining technically different.
If you think America is dependent on plastic you should visit Asia. Here is an anecdote which explains it:
I went to a supermarket to buy some food. I saw readymade duck meat and it looked deliciousdelicious. It was packaged in a transparent plastic bag inside of a hard plastic shell. I tried to take it but one of the grandmas who work there snatched it out of my hand and put it into another plastic bag. Then I went to pay for it and they put my nice plastic package into a plastic bag so it's easier for me to carry.
By that time my 200 grams of duck meat was packaged in four layers of soft and hard plastic.
Or bread, in Germany, Poland and Sweden where I lived before they put bread into a paper bag, which makes it stay crispy. Here in Korea the bread goes into a clear plastic bag, which then goes into a plastic bag for carrying. If you let in be in the plastic, once you're home the bread is almost soggy.
