A Guide to everyday recycling symbols
We all have our part to play to not only recycle as much waste as possible but to also make sure our recycling is properly sorted. It’s simple keep, make sure your packaging is clean (free from food waste), dry and placed in loose.
Recycling is easy once you know how!
But, with so many symbols, it can get a little confusing. Our friends in Repak have compiled a simple guide to familiar symbols to help you make sense of it all.
Recycling symbols now appear on everyday items and packaging to keep you in the loop. The symbols will let you know if a product can or can’t be recycled.
It’s important that you can identify and understand these symbols so that you can play your part in recycling, always remembering to put the right thing in the right bin, CLEAN, DRY and LOOSE.
Below are some of the more common ones…
A relatively new logo to recognise. When you buy a drink in a container with the Re-turn logo, you are charged a small refundable deposit. You can then claim back the levy by returning the empty container.
This a European trademark and it means that suppliers and producers have contributed financially to the recycling of packaging in Europe. For example, Repak Members can use this symbol on their packaging as they pay fees to Repak to fund recycling in Ireland. The symbol does not necessarily mean that the packaging is recyclable, has been recycled or will be recycled.
The Mobius symbol indicates that a product’s packaging can be recycled, not that it has been recycled or that it is accepted in all recycling collection systems. The symbol may be accompanied by a percentage figure in the middle to explain that x% of the packaging is recycled.
The ‘Tidyman’ symbol asks you not to litter. It is a reminder to dispose of your waste carefully and thoughtfully.
MyWaste.ie (an initiative brought to you by the Regional Waste Management Offices on behalf of the Department of Climate Action, Communications and the Environment) has developed its own symbols for use on packaging in Ireland. This symbol indicates that packaging can be recycled in your household recycling bin. For more information see MyWaste.ie
The rest of the symbols can be found here.
