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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,
Christie Engineering Standard – Packaging Labeling and Design for Environment Guidelines
Includes lists of material codes in several countries.
Packaging Material Codes
Includes lists of material codes in Germany. {{waste Recycling Environmental standards Waste management concepts
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
Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...
, metals
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typical ...
, paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...
, and plastics. 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 more granular system of 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. The lack of a code system in some countries has encouraged those who fabricate their own plastic products, such as RepRap
The RepRap project started in England in 2005 as a University of Bath initiative to develop a low-cost 3D printer that can print most of its own components, but it is now made up of hundreds of collaborators worldwide. RepRap is short for rep''li ...
and other prosumer 3-D printer
3D printing or additive manufacturing is the Manufacturing, construction of a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design, CAD model or a digital 3D modeling, 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is ...
users, to adopt a voluntary recycling code based on the more comprehensive Chinese system.
List of resin identification codes (RIC) and codes defined by the European Commission
List of 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.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. Thus, they are not all automatically recyclable. How2Recycle is a project that started in 2008. 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. On-Pack Recycling Label used in the UK. It is very simple and only states whether it is recyclable or not.See also
*Resin identification code
The ASTM International Resin Identification Coding System, often abbreviated RIC, is a set of symbols appearing on plastic products that identify the plastic resin out of which the product is made. It was developed in 1988 by the Society of t ...
*Japanese recycling symbols
Japan has a system of recycling marks, , which indicate and classify recyclable materials.
They are similar to the resin identification codes, in that they have surrounding arrows, with text inside to indicate the type of material.
Rather than u ...
*Waste hierarchy
Waste hierarchy is a tool used in the evaluation of processes that protect the environment alongside resource and energy consumption from most favourable to least favourable actions. The hierarchy establishes preferred program priorities based ...
*Waste management
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal.
This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...
*Food safe symbol
Food contact materials are materials that are intended to be in contact with food. These can be things that are quite obvious like a glass or a can for soft drinks as well as machinery in a food factory or a coffee machine.
Food contact mate ...
* ''Bag It'' (documentary)
References
External links
Christie Engineering Standard – Packaging Labeling and Design for Environment Guidelines
Includes lists of material codes in several countries.
Packaging Material Codes
Includes lists of material codes in Germany. {{waste Recycling Environmental standards Waste management concepts
Recycling Codes
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 m ...
Recycling Codes
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 m ...
Recycling Codes
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 m ...
Consumer symbols