Recycling codes

Recycling codes on products

Recycling codes are used to identify the material from which an item is made, to facilitate easier recycling or other reprocessing. Having a recycling code, the chasing arrows logo or a resin code on an item is not an automatic indicator that a material is recyclable but rather an explanation of what the item is. Such symbols have been defined for batteries, biomatter/organic material, glass, metals, paper, and plastics. Various countries have adopted different codes. For example, the table below shows the polymer resin codes (plastic) for a country. In the United States there are fewer, as ABS is grouped in with others in group 7. Other countries have a more granular recycling code system. For example, China's polymer identification system has seven different classifications of plastic, five different symbols for post-consumer paths, and 140 identification codes.^[1] The lack of codes in some countries has encouraged those who can 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.^[2]

List of resin identification codes (RIC) and codes defined by the European Commission

Symbol	Code[3]	Description	Examples
Plastics (see resin identification code[4]) [5]
[lower-alpha 1]	#1 PET(E)	Polyethylene terephthalate	Polyester fibers, soft drink bottles
[lower-alpha 1]	#2 PEHD or HDPE	High-density polyethylene	Plastic bottles, plastic bags, trash cans, oil cans, imitation wood
[lower-alpha 1]	#3 PVC	Polyvinyl chloride	Window frames, bottles for chemicals, flooring, plumbing pipes
[lower-alpha 1]	#4 PELD or LDPE	Low-density polyethylene	Plastic bags, buckets, soap dispenser bottles, milk bottles, plastic tubes
[lower-alpha 1]	#5 PP	Polypropylene	Bumpers, car interior trim, industrial fibers, carry-out beverage cups
[lower-alpha 1]	#6 PS	Polystyrene	Toys, flower pots, video cassettes, ashtrays, trunks, beverage/food coolers, beer cups, wine and champagne cups, carry-out food containers, Styrofoam
[lower-alpha 1]	#7 O (OTHER)	All other plastics	Polycarbonate (PC), polyamide (PA), styrene acrylonitrile (SAN), acrylic plastics/polyacrylonitrile (PAN), bioplastics
	#9 or #ABS	Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene	Monitor/TV cases, coffee makers, cell phones, most computer plastic, most FFF 3D printed parts that are not bioplastic such as PLA
	PA	Polyamide	Nylon
Batteries (see also battery recycling)
	#8 Lead	Lead–acid battery	Car batteries
	#9 or #19 Alkaline	Alkaline battery
	#10 NiCD	Nickel–cadmium battery
	#11 NiMH	Nickel–metal hydride battery
	#12 Li	Lithium battery
	#13 SO(Z)	Silver-oxide battery
	#14 CZ	Zinc–carbon battery
Paper [5]
	#20 PAP	Corrugated fiberboard
	#21 PAP	Non-corrugated fiberboard (paperboard)
	#22 PAP	Paper
Metals
	#40 FE	Steel
	#41 ALU	Aluminium
Biomatter/Organic material
	#50 FOR	Wood
	#51 FOR	Cork	Bottle stoppers, place mats, construction material
	#60 COT	Cotton
	#61 TEX	Jute
	#62-69 TEX	Other Textiles
Glass
	#70 GLS	Clear Glass
	#71 GLS	Green Glass
	#72 GLS	Brown Glass
	#73 GLS	Dark Sort Glass
	#74 GLS	Light Sort Glass
	#75 GLS	Light Leaded Glass	Televisions, high-end electronics display glass
	#76 GLS	Leaded Glass	Older televisions, ash trays, older beverage holders
	#77 GLS	Copper Mixed/Copper Backed Glass	Electronics, LCD display heads, clocks, watches
	#78 GLS	Silver Mixed/Silver Backed Glass	Mirrors, formal table settings
	#79 GLS	Gold Mixed/Gold Backed Glass	Computer glass, formal table settings
Composites (80—99)
	#81 PapPet	Paper + plastic	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
	#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
	#87 Card-stock Laminate	Biodegradable plastic	Laminating material, special occasion cards, bookmarks, business cards, flyers/advertising
	#90	Plastics/Aluminium
	#91	Plastic/Tinplate
	#92	Plastic/Miscellaneous metals
	#95	Glass/Plastic
	#96	Glass/Aluminium
	#97	Glass/Tinplate
	#98	Glass/Miscellaneous metals

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 GB16288,2008.^[7]

See also

• Resin identification code
• Japanese recycling symbols
• Waste hierarchy
• Waste management
• Food safe symbol
• Bag It (documentary)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Recycling symbols.

• 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.