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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
Resin identification codes and codes defined by the European Commission
| Symbol[a] | Code[6] | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastics (see resin identification code)[7] | |||
|
1 PET(E) | Polyethylene terephthalate | Polyester fibers, soft drink bottles, food containers (also see plastic bottles) |
|
2 PEHD or HDPE | High-density polyethylene | Plastic milk containers, plastic bags, bottle caps, trash cans, oil cans, plastic lumber, toolboxes, supplement containers |
|
3 PVC | Polyvinyl chloride | Window frames, bottles for chemicals, flooring, plumbing pipes |
|
4 PELD or LDPE | Low-density polyethylene | Plastic bags, Ziploc bags, buckets, squeeze bottles, plastic tubes, cutting boards |
|
5 PP | Polypropylene | Flower pots, bumpers, car interior trim, industrial fibers, carry-out beverage cups, microwavable food containers, DVD keep cases |
|
6 PS | Polystyrene | Toys, video cassettes, ashtrays, trunks, beverage/food coolers, beer cups, wine and champagne cups, carry-out food containers, Styrofoam |
|
7 O (Other) | All other plastics | Polycarbonate (PC), polyamide (PA), styrene acrylonitrile (SAN), acrylic plastics/polyacrylonitrile (PAN), bioplastics |
|
ABS | 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 |
|
PA | Polyamide (nylon) | Toothbrush bristles, socks, stockings, automobile seatbelts, backpacks, parachutes, kites |
| Batteries (see also battery recycling) | |||
|
8 Lead[citation needed] | Lead–acid battery | Car batteries, truck and semi truck batteries, buses and coaches, boats and jet skis, jump starters, data centers |
|
9 Alkaline | Alkaline battery | TV Remote batteries, flashlight batteries |
| 10 NiCD | Nickel–cadmium battery | Older batteries; camcorders, walkie-talkies and two-way radios, RC cars, rechargeable razors | |
|
11 NiMH | Nickel–metal hydride battery | Rechargeable AA/AAA batteries, cordless phone batteries, older hybrid car batteries (Toyota Prius), power tool battery packs |
|
12 Li | Lithium battery | Cell phone batteries, computer batteries, camera batteries, e-cigarettes |
|
13 SO(Z) | Silver-oxide battery | Wristwatches, small medical devices (hearing aids), precision laser pointers, digital thermometers |
| 14 CZ | Zinc–carbon battery | Flashlight batteries, clocks, smoke detectors | |
| Paper[6] | |||
|
20 PAP | Corrugated fiberboard (cardboard) | Cardboard boxes, eg. shipping, food delivery |
|
21 PAP | Non-corrugated fiberboard (paperboard) | Cereal boxes, cracker boxes, tissue boxes, medicine boxes, greeting cards |
|
22 PAP | Paper | Newspaper, books, magazines, wrapping paper, wallpaper, paper bags, paper straws |
| Metals | |||
 
|
40 FE | Steel | Food cans (soup, beans), coffee tins, bottle caps, aerosol cans, paint cans, electronic casing such as USB shields |
 
|
41 ALU | Aluminium | Soft drink cans, deodorant cans, disposable food containers, aluminium foil, heat sinks |
| Biomatter/Organic material | |||
|
50 FOR | Wood | Furniture, cutting boards, brooms, pencils, cocktail sticks, wooden spoons |
|
51 FOR | Cork | Bottle stoppers, place mats, construction material |
|
60 COT | Cotton | Towels, t-shirts, cotton buds/swabs, cotton pads |
|
61 TEX | Jute | Burlap sacks, twine/rope, carpet backing, “Hessian” fabric, reusable grocery bags |
| 62-69 TEX | Other textiles | Summer shirts, high-end bed sheets, tablecloths, tea towels. Heavy-duty canvas bags, sustainable clothing, rope, industrial twine. Sweaters (Jumpers), winter coats, suits, blankets, carpets. Ties, high-end dresses, scarves, luxury bedding. Polyester, Nylon, Spandex, “Poly-cotton” blends, microfiber cloths. | |
| Glass | |||
|
70 GL | Clear Glass | Food storage jars such as spirit bottles, soda bottles |
|
71 GL | Green Glass | Wine bottles and spirits, carafes |
|
72 GL | Brown Glass | Beer, light-sensitive products, ink bottles, photo developer |
|
73 GL | Dark Sort Glass | Wine bottles, sparkling water bottles, champagne bottles, high-end olive oil |
|
74 GL | Light Sort Glass | Voss water, Light-blue perfume bottles |
|
75 GL | Light Leaded Glass | Televisions, high-end electronics display glass like in calculators |
|
76 GL | Leaded Glass | Older televisions, ash trays, older beverage holders |
|
77 GL | Copper Mixed/Copper Backed Glass | Electronics, LCD heads, clocks, watches |
|
78 GL | Silver Mixed/Silver Backed Glass | Mirrors, formal table settings |
|
79 GL | Gold Mixed/Gold Backed Glass | Computer glass, formal table settings |
| Composites (80—99) | |||
| 80 Paper | Paper and miscellaneous metals | Insulated Mailing Envelopes | |
| 81 PapPet | Paper + plastic | Consumer packaging, pet food bags, cold store grocery bags, ice cream containers, cardboard cans, disposable plates | |
| 82 C/PAP | Paper and fibreboard/Aluminium | Butter & margarine wrappers, chewing gum foil, cigarette inner liners, soup/sauce sachets, candy bar wraps | |
| 83 C/PAP | Paper and fibreboard/Tinplate | Composite cans (e.g., cocoa powder, infant formula), high-end tea canisters, heavy-duty mailing tubes, luxury gift tubes (whisky/perfume) | |
|
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 C/PAP | Paper and fibreboard/Plastic/Aluminium/Tinplate | Large industrial canisters or specific heavy-duty dry food storage | |
|
87 CSL (Card-Stock Laminate) | Biodegradable plastic | Laminating material, special occasion cards, bookmarks, business cards, flyers/advertising |
|
90 C/LDPE | Plastics/Aluminium | Plastic toothpaste tubes/some vacuum packed coffee bags |
|
91 C/LDPE | Plastic/Tinplate | Laminated wet-wipe canisters, industrial grease tubs |
| 92 C/LDPE | Plastic/Miscellaneous metals | Anti-static electronics bags, specialized vacuum-sealed industrial parts | |
| 95 C/GL | Glass/Plastic | Safety-coated laboratory bottles, aerosol perfume glass, shatter-proof cosmetic jars | |
| 96 C/GL | Glass/Aluminium | Pharmaceutical vials with crimped caps, premium spirits bottles with metal sleeves | |
| 97 C/GL | Glass/Tinplate | Decorative food jars, high-end candle jars, vintage-style apothecary bottles, heavy-duty storage canisters | |
| 98 C/GL | Glass/Miscellaneous metals | Vacuum-insulated glass panels, high-end laboratory electronics, specialized optical lenses | |
| 99 | other | Solar panels, high-tech vacuum packaging, specialized military “MRE” pouches, heavy-duty electronics shielding | |
- ^ 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”.[4] The three-arrow symbol was based on the Universal Recycling Symbol and is still in widespread use.[5]
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.[8]
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.[9] Thus, they are not all automatically recyclable.
How2Recycle is a project that started in 2008.[10] 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.
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.[11]
See also
- Resin identification code
- Japanese recycling symbols
- Waste hierarchy
- Waste management
- Food safe symbol
- Bag It (documentary)
References
- ^ “Recycling Codes: What Do Those Numbers Mean?” Bamski Bamski Blog, n.d. Accessed April 18, 2025.
- ^ Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China (SAC) GB16288, 2008. Marking of plastics products. Chinese Standard Publishing House, Beijing; 2008.
- ^ Emily J. Hunt, Chenlong Zhang, Nick Anzalone, Joshua 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
- ^ Jessica Holbrook. Say so long to recycling code arrows. plasticnews.com. June 2013.
- ^ “The Complete Guide to Recycling Symbols”. Recylcing Today. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ a b 97/129/EC: Commission Decision of 28 January 1997 establishing the identification system for packaging materials pursuant to European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste
- ^ “Recycling codes and resin identification symbols”. GWS Group. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
- ^ Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China (SAC) GB 16288-2008. Marking of plastics products 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
- ^ “Plastic by the Numbers”.
- ^ “Labels – How2Recycle”. how2recycle.info.
- ^ “Label Objectives”.
External links
- Packaging Material Codes Includes lists of material codes in Germany.
