Recycling saves trees and conserves energy, but how do you know if you're doing your part? Manufacturers have created various symbols to let consumers know if a product is made from recycled materials or can be recycled after use. So which symbols mean what? The following recycling symbols are the most commonly used in the U.S. today and will give you a good idea if you're buying an eco-friendly product.
1. Universal Recycling Symbol
What it Means: The universal recycling symbol is recognized around the world, and it is used to designate recyclable materials in a product or a product’s packaging.
Variations: This unending loop can be found as an outline or filled with color. Either variation is used to denote a recyclable material.
2. Recycled Symbol
What it Means: When the Universal Recycling Symbol is found inside a circle shape, the object has been made from recycled materials.
Variations: When no percentage is found in the center of this symbol, then the object has been made from 100% recycled materials. If, however, there is a percentage found in the center of this symbol, that percentage is the portion of the item made up of recycled materials. This symbol might be displayed as a white recycling symbol within a colored circle or with a black or outlined recycling symbol within the black outline of a circle.
3. Plastic Resin Type Symbol
What it Means: Though most plastic products carry this derived triangular symbol and commonly display a number in the center, that does not mean all are recyclable.
Variations: Plastics are all made of different types of resins. Because of this, resins have been divided into seven different types that can be determined by the number present in this variation of the Universal Recycling Symbol. Numbers range from one through seven and may be accompanied by certain letters denoting the resin type just below the symbol.
4. 100% Recycled Paperboard Symbol
What it Means: This symbol designates that a paper or paperboard material (like boxes, overnight envelopes, or other paper products) is made from 100% recycled paperboard. Essentially, this symbol means that the paper product it appears on was made strictly with post-consumer recycled paper.
Variations: You’ll find the 100% Recycled Paperboard symbol in white, with a black background; in black, with a white background; in green with a white background; or in white, with a green background. There is no meaning associated with color differences.
5. Corrugated Recyclables Symbol
What it Means: Corrugated is a type of paper material commonly found in boxes, but other materials too. This symbol does not mean that the item is made from recycled materials; it only means that the corrugated material can (and should) be recycled after use.
Variations: The Corrugated Recyclables Symbol can be printed as just a symbol or as a symbol with text. Either symbol denotes that the material should be recycled with other corrugated products.
6. Compostable Symbol
What it Means: This composting symbol relates to any material that can be recycled via compost. Compostable packaging is relatively new but puts a new spin on recycling. When you see the Compostable symbol, the material can be added to your home or community compost and will eventually turn into nutrient-rich mulch.
Variations: There aren’t any variations of the Compostable Symbol designated by the U.S. Composting Council, but many other countries carry different symbols for compostable materials. Such symbols might carry over to the U.S. eventually, but for now there is just this one symbol.
