Recycling codes
{{Short description|Code identifying material, for recycling}}
File:Recycling codes on products.jpg
Recycling codes are used to identify the materials out of which the item is made, to facilitate easier recycling process. The presence on an item of a recycling code, a chasing arrows logo, or a resin code, is not an automatic indicator that a material is recyclable; it is an explanation of what the item is made of. Codes have been developed for batteries, biomatter/organic material, glass, metals, paper, and plastics."Recycling Codes: What Do Those Numbers Mean?" Bamski Bamski Blog, n.d. Accessed April 18, 2025. Various countries have adopted different codes. For example, the table below shows the polymer resin (plastic) codes. In the United States there are fewer, because ABS is placed with "others" in group 7.
A number of countries have a finer-grained system with more recycling codes. For example, China's polymer identification system has seven different classifications of plastic, five different symbols for post-consumer paths, and 140 identification codes.Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China (SAC) GB16288, 2008. Marking of plastics products. Chinese Standard Publishing House, Beijing; 2008. The lack of a code system in some countries has encouraged those who fabricate their own plastic products, such as RepRap and other prosumer 3-D printer users, to adopt a voluntary recycling code based on the more comprehensive Chinese system.Emily J. Hunt, Chenlong Zhang, Nick Anzalone, Joshua M. Pearce, [https://www.academia.edu/11229348/Polymer_recycling_codes_for_distributed_manufacturing_with_3-D_printers Polymer recycling codes for distributed manufacturing with 3-D printers], Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 97, pp. 24-30 (2015). DOI:10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.02.004
Resin identification codes and codes defined by the European Commission
{{cleanup section|reason=90/91 code images need review: non-matching text (some other system involved?)|date=October 2022}}
| class="wikitable" |
| Symbol
! Description ! Examples |
|---|
| colspan=4|Plastics (see resin identification code[http://plastics.americanchemistry.com/Plastic-Resin-Codes-PDF Plastic Packaging Resins] American Chemistry Council[https://optipak.com.ua/markirovka-plastikovoj-posudy-vidy-tablicza-rasshifrovki-markerov-plastikovoj-tary/ Marking of plastic dishes: see, deciphering markers in plastic containers] Plastic how to grind plastic utensils) |
| 50px{{efn|name=triangle|For the resin codes, ASTM International has replaced the three-arrow symbol by a solid, equilateral triangle because "the code is designed for resin-identification purposes and not recyclability".Jessica Holbrook. Say so long to recycling code arrows. [http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20130611/NEWS/130619978/say-so-long-to-recycling-code-arrows plasticnews.com]. June 2013. The three-arrow symbol was based on the Universal Recycling Symbol.}}
| 1 PET(E) | Polyester fibers, soft drink bottles, food containers (also see plastic bottles) |
| 50px{{efn|name=triangle}}
| 2 PEHD or HDPE | Plastic milk containers, plastic bags, bottle caps, trash cans, oil cans, plastic lumber, toolboxes, supplement containers |
| 50px{{efn|name=triangle}}
| 3 PVC | Window frames, bottles for chemicals, flooring, plumbing pipes |
| 50px{{efn|name=triangle}}
| 4 PELD or LDPE | Plastic bags, Ziploc bags, buckets, squeeze bottles, plastic tubes, chopping boards |
| 50px{{efn|name=triangle}}
| 5 PP | Flower pots, bumpers, car interior trim, industrial fibers, carry-out beverage cups, microwavable food containers, DVD keep cases |
| 50px{{efn|name=triangle}}
| 6 PS | Toys, video cassettes, ashtrays, trunks, beverage/food coolers, beer cups, wine and champagne cups, carry-out food containers, Styrofoam |
| 50px{{efn|name=triangle}}
| 7 O (Other) | All other plastics | Polycarbonate (PC), polyamide (PA), styrene acrylonitrile (SAN), acrylic plastics/polyacrylonitrile (PAN), bioplastics |
| 50px
| ABS{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} | Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene | Monitor/TV cases, coffee makers, cell phones, calculators, most computer plastic, Lego bricks, most FFF 3D printed parts that are not bioplastic such as PLA |
| 50px
| PA{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} | Toothbrush bristles, socks, stockings, etc. |
| colspan=4|Batteries (see also battery recycling) |
| File:Recycle-8.png
| 8 Lead{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} |
| File:Recycle-9.png
| 9 Alkaline |TV Remote batteries, flashlight batteries |
| | 10 NiCD
|Older batteries |
| 50px
| 11 NiMH | Nickel–metal hydride battery | |
| 50px
| 12 Li |Cell phone batteries, computer batteries, camera batteries |
| File:Recycle-13.png
| 13 SO(Z) | |
| | 14 CZ
|Flashlight batteries |
| colspan=4|Paper |
| 50px
| 20 PAP | Corrugated fiberboard (cardboard) | Cardboard boxes |
| 50px
| 21 PAP | Non-corrugated fiberboard (paperboard) | Cereal and snack boxes |
| 50px
| 22 PAP | Paper | Newspaper, books, magazines, wrapping paper, wallpaper, paper bags, paper straws |
| colspan=4|Metals |
| 50px
| 40 FE | Steel |Food cans |
| 50px File:CEN recycling aluminium.svg | 41 ALU |Soft drink cans, deodorant cans, disposable food containers, aluminium foil, heat sinks |
| colspan=4|Biomatter/Organic material |
| 50px
| 50 FOR | Wood |Furniture, chopping boards, brooms, pencils, cocktail sticks, wooden spoons |
| 50px
| 51 FOR | Cork | Bottle stoppers, place mats, construction material |
| 50px
| 60 COT | Cotton |Towels, t-shirts, cotton buds/swabs, cotton pads |
| 50px
| 61 TEX | Jute |
| | 62-69 TEX
| Other textiles | |
| colspan=4|Glass |
| 50px
| 70 GL | Clear Glass | Food storage jars |
| 50px
| 71 GL | Green Glass | Wine bottles |
| 50px
| 72 GL | Brown Glass | Beer, light-sensitive products |
| 50px
| 73 GL | Dark Sort Glass | |
| File:No74 GLS Light Sort Glass Recycling Logo.png
| 74 GL | Light Sort Glass | |
| File:No75 GLS Light Leaded Glass Recycling Logo.png
| 75 GL | Light Leaded Glass | Televisions, high-end electronics display glass like in calculators |
| File:Recycle-76.png
| 76 GL | Leaded Glass | Older televisions, ash trays, older beverage holders |
| File:Recycle-77.png
| 77 GL | Copper Mixed/Copper Backed Glass | Electronics, LCD display heads, clocks, watches |
| File:Recycle-78.png
| 78 GL | Silver Mixed/Silver Backed Glass | Mirrors, formal table settings |
| 50px
| 79 GL | Gold Mixed/Gold Backed Glass | Computer glass, formal table settings |
| colspan=4|Composites (80—99) |
| | 80 Paper
| Paper and miscellaneous metals | |
| | 81 PapPet
| Consumer packaging, pet food bags, cold store grocery bags, Icecream containers, cardboard cans, disposable plates |
| | 82
| Paper and fibreboard/Aluminium | |
| | 83
| Paper and fibreboard/Tinplate | |
| 50px
| 84 C/PAP (or PapAl) | Paper and cardboard/plastic/aluminium | Liquid storage containers, juice boxes, cardboard cans, cigarette pack liners, gum wrappers, cartridge shells for blanks, fireworks colouring material, Tetra Brik. |
| | 85
| Paper and fibreboard/Plastic/Aluminium/Tinplate | |
| 50px
| 87 CSL (Card-Stock Laminate) | Laminating material, special occasion cards, bookmarks, business cards, flyers/advertising |
| 50px
| 90 | Plastic toothpaste tubes/some vacuum packed coffee bags |
| 50px
| 91 | |
| | 92
| Plastic/Miscellaneous metals | |
| | 95
| |
| | 96
| |
| | 97
| |
| | 98
| |
| | 99
| other | |
{{notelist}}
Chinese codes for plastics products
The Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China (SAC) has defined material codes for different types of plastics in the document GB 16288-2008. The numbers are consistent with RIC up to #6.Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China (SAC) GB 16288-2008. Marking of plastics products {{lang|zh|塑料制品的标志}}. Chinese Standard Publishing House, Beijing; 2008, as cited in E. J. Hunt, C. Zhang, N.Anzalone, and J. M. Pearce. Polymer Recycling Codes for Distributed Manufacturing with 3-D Printers, Resources, Conservation and Recycling 97, pp. 24–30 (2015). doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.02.004
Alternative recycling labels
The following recycling label projects are designed with the consumer in mind while SPI or Resin Identification Codes are designed to be recognized by waste sorting facilities. They provide an alternative that eliminates confusion as people often mistake any resin code to be recyclable, but this is not necessarily true. The recyclability of the numbers depends on the abilities of the facilities in the community.{{Cite web|url=https://plasticactioncentre.ca/directory/plastic-by-the-numbers/#:~:text=The%20recycling%20symbol%20found%20on,the%20most%20commonly%20recycled%20plastics.|title = Plastic by the Numbers}} Thus, they are not all automatically recyclable.
How2Recycle is a project that started in 2008.{{Cite web|url=https://how2recycle.info/labels|title=Labels - How2Recycle|website=how2recycle.info}} The label provides information about the packaging material and clearly indicates whether it is recyclable, partially or totally. If it is not recyclable at all, it is shown by a diagonal line going through the recycling label.
[https://oprl.org.uk/ OPRL] is a not-for-profit organisation that provides simple, consistent 'recycle' & 'refill' labels for retailer & brand packaging in the UK market. The labels clearly state whether the packaging is recyclable or not, helping consumers recycle better, more often.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oprl.org.uk/about-oprl/label-objectives/|title=Label Objectives}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20161012234210/http://www.tamilmani.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/verpackv_3aenderung_en.pdf Packaging Material Codes] Includes lists of material codes in Germany.
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Category:Environmental standards