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Know Your Symbols
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What Do the Three
Chasing Arrows Mean?
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Do you know why the recycling symbol
has three chasing arrows? Each arrow represents
one step in the three-step process that completes the recycling loop.
The first step is collection.
This is when you
put your recyclable materials into your curbside
recycling bin or take them to a local drop-off center. The collected
materials are then
prepared to be marketed and are sold to a manufacturing facility. The
manufacturing
process is the
second arrow in the recycling symbol. The recyclable materials
are converted into new products and shipped to stores across the country
to be placed on shelves
as new consumer goods. The
third step is where you, the consumer, purchase products made with
recycled content.
When you "Buy Recycled," you complete the recycling loop, or
"close the loop".
The chasing
arrows symbol, by itself, can mean that a product or package is
recyclable, contains
recycled materials, or both. The Federal Trade Commission’s
Environmental Marketing
Guides require marketers to qualify whether the product or package is
recycled content or
recyclable. The guides can be found on the internet at www.ftc.gov/bcp/menu-enviro.htm. The
chasing arrows symbol can be used without qualification only if the
product or package is made entirely from recycled material and is commonly
recyclable. Otherwise,
the label should specify the percentage of recycled content used in the
product or package. |
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This
symbol designates products and
packages made with 100% recycled
paperboard. The ability of recycling paperboard varies with
collection programs. Check first before saving. |
| Code |
Description |
Properties |
Packaging Applications |
Recycled Products |
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Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE). PET is clear, tough, and has good gas and moisture barrier properties. Commonly used in soft drink bottles and many injection molded consumer product containers. Other applications include strapping and both food and non-food containers. Cleaned, recycled PET flakes and pellets are in great demand for spinning fiber for carpet yarns, producing fiberfill and geo-textiles. Nickname: Polyester.
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Clarity, strength, toughness, barrier to gas and moisture, resistance to heat |
Plastic soft drink, water, sports drink, beer, mouthwash, catsup and salad dressing bottles. Peanut butter, pickle, jelly and jam jars. Ovenable film and ovenable prepared food trays. |
Fiber, tote bags, clothing, film and sheet, food and beverage containers, carpet, strapping, fleece wear, luggage and bottles. |
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High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). HDPE is used to make bottles for milk, juice, water and laundry products. Unpigmented bottles are translucent, have good barrier properties and stiffness, and are well suited to packaging products with a short shelf life such as milk. Because HDPE has good chemical resistance, it is used for packaging many household and industrial chemicals such as detergents and bleach. Pigmented HDPE bottles have better stress crack resistance than unpigmented HDPE bottles. |
Stiffness, strength, toughness, resistance to chemicals and moisture, permeability to gas, ease of processing, and ease of forming. |
Milk, water, juice, cosmetic, shampoo, dish and laundry detergent bottles; yogurt and margarine tubs; cereal box liners; grocery, trash and retail bags. |
Liquid laundry detergent, shampoo, conditioner and motor oil bottles; pipe, buckets, crates, flower pots, garden edging, film and sheet, recycling bins, benches, dog houses, plastic lumber, floor tiles, picnic tables, fencing. |
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Vinyl (Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC): In addition to its stable physical properties, PVC has excellent chemical resistance, good weatherability, flow characteristics and stable electrical properties. The diverse slate of vinyl products can be broadly divided into rigid and flexible materials. Bottles and packaging sheet are major rigid markets, but it is also widely used in the construction market for such applications as pipes and fittings, siding, carpet backing and windows. Flexible vinyl is used in wire and cable insulation, film and sheet, floor coverings synthetic leather products, coatings, blood bags, medical tubing and many other applications. |
Versatility, clarity, ease of blending, strength, toughness, resistance to grease, oil and chemicals. |
Clear food and non-food packaging, medical tubing, wire and cable insulation, film and sheet, construction products such as pipes, fittings, siding, floor tiles, carpet backing and window frames. |
Packaging, loose-leaf binders, decking, paneling, gutters, mud flaps, film and sheet, floor tiles and mats, resilient flooring, cassette trays, electrical boxes, cables, traffic cones, garden hose, mobile home skirting. |
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Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE).Used predominately in film applications due to its toughness, flexibility and relative transparency, making it popular for use in applications where heat sealing is necessary. LDPE is also used to manufacture some flexible lids and bottles and it is used in wire and cable applications |
Ease of processing, strength, toughness, flexibility, ease of sealing, barrier to moisture. |
Dry cleaning, bread and frozen food bags, squeezable bottles, e.g. honey, mustard. |
Shipping envelopes, garbage can liners, floor tile, furniture, film and sheet, compost bins, paneling, trash cans, landscape timber, lumber |
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Polypropylene (PP). Polypropylene has good chemical resistance, is strong, and has a high melting point making it good for hot-fill liquids. PP is found in flexible and rigid packaging to fibers and large molded parts for automotive and consumer products. |
Strength, toughness, resistance to heat, chemicals, grease and oil, versatile, barrier to moisture. |
Catsup bottles, yogurt containers and margarine tubs, medicine bottles |
Automobile battery cases, signal lights, battery cables, brooms, brushes, ice scrapers, oil funnels, bicycle racks, rakes, bins, pallets, sheeting, trays. |
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Polystyrene (PS). Polystyrene is a versatile plastic that can be rigid or foamed. General purpose polystyrene is clear, hard and brittle. It has a relatively low melting point. Typical applications include protective packaging, containers, lids, cups, bottles and trays. |
Versatility, insulation, clarity, easily formed |
Compact disc jackets, food service applications, grocery store meat trays, egg cartons, aspirin bottles, cups, plates, cutlery. |
Thermometers, light switch plates, thermal insulation, egg cartons, vents, desk trays, rulers, license plate frames, foam packing, foam plates, cups, utensils |
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Other. Use of this code indicates that the package in question is made with a resin other than the six listed above, or is made of more than one resin listed above, and used in a multi-layer combination. |
Dependent on resin or combination of resins |
Three and five gallon reusable water bottles, some citrus juice and catsup bottles. |
Bottles, plastic lumber applications. |
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This
symbol can help you to determine whether the product or package
can be recycled in your local recycling program, but is not a
claim of recyclability nor a claim of containing recycled materials. Most recycling programs can only accept bottles with the numbers 1 or 2
inside. |
Recyclability
The following symbols are often used on packaging to
indicate that they are recyclable where recycling
programs are available. |
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