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. 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.[1] 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.[2]
| Symbol | Code[3] | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastics (see resin identification code[4] [5]) [6] | |||
| 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, chopping 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, etc. | |
| Batteries (see also battery recycling) | |||
| 8 Lead | Lead–acid battery | Car batteries | |
| 9 Alkaline | Alkaline battery | TV Remote batteries, flashlight batteries | |
| 10 NiCD | Nickel–cadmium battery | Older batteries | |
| 11 NiMH | Nickel–metal hydride battery | ||
| 12 Li | Lithium battery | Cell phone batteries, computer batteries, camera batteries | |
| 13 SO(Z) | Silver-oxide battery | ||
| 14 CZ | Zinc–carbon battery | Flashlight batteries | |
| Paper | |||
| 20 PAP | Corrugated fiberboard (cardboard) | Cardboard boxes | |
| 21 PAP | Non-corrugated fiberboard (paperboard) | Cereal and snack boxes | |
| 22 PAP | Paper | Newspaper, books, magazines, wrapping paper, wallpaper, paper bags, paper straws | |
| Metals | |||
| 40 FE | Steel | Food cans | |
| 41 ALU | Aluminium | Soft drink cans, deodorant cans, disposable food containers, aluminium foil, heat sinks | |
| Biomatter/Organic material | |||
| 50 FOR | Wood | Furniture, chopping 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 | Clothing | |
| 62-69 TEX | Other textiles | ||
| Glass | |||
| 70 GL | Clear Glass | Food storage jars | |
| 71 GL | Green Glass | Wine bottles | |
| 72 GL | Brown Glass | Beer, light-sensitive products | |
| 73 GL | Dark Sort Glass | ||
| 74 GL | Light Sort Glass | ||
| 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 display 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 | ||
| 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 CSL (Card-Stock Laminate) | Laminating material, special occasion cards, bookmarks, business cards, flyers/advertising | ||
| 90 | Plastics/Aluminium | Plastic toothpaste tubes/some vacuum packed coffee bags | |
| 91 | Plastic/Tinplate | ||
| 92 | Plastic/Miscellaneous metals | ||
| 95 | Glass/Plastic | ||
| 96 | Glass/Aluminium | ||
| 97 | Glass/Tinplate | ||
| 98 | Glass/Miscellaneous metals | ||
| 99 | other | ||
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.[7]
| Code | Abbreviation | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PET | polyethylene terephthalate | |
| 2 | HDPE | polyethylene, high density | |
| 3 | PVC | poly(vinyl chloride) | |
| 4 | LDPE | polyethylene, low density | |
| 5 | PP | polypropylene | |
| 6 | PS | polystyrene | |
| 7 | AB | Acrylonitrile-butadiene plastic | |
| 8 | ABAK | Acrylonitrile-butadiene-acrylate plastic | |
| 9 | ABS | Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene plastic | |
| 10 | ACS | Acrylonitrile-chlorinated polyethylene-styrene | |
| 11 | AEPDS | Acrylonitrile-(ethylene-propylene-diene)-styrene plastic | |
| 12 | AMMA | Acrylonitrile-methyl-methacrylate plastic | |
| 13 | ASA | Acrylonitrile styrene acrylate plastic | |
| 14 | CA | cellulose acetate | |
| 15 | CAB | cellulose acetate butyrate | |
| 16 | CAP | cellulose acetate propionate | |
| 17 | CEF | cellulose formaldehyde | |
| 18 | CF | cellulose-formaldehyde resin | |
| 19 | CMC | carboxymethyl cellulose | |
| 20 | CN | cellulose nitrate | |
| 21 | COC | cycloolefin copolymer | |
| 22 | CP | cellulose propionate | |
| 23 | CTA | cellulose triacetate | |
| 24 | E/P | Ethylene-propylene plastic | |
| 25 | EAA | Ethylene-acrylic acid plastic | |
| 26 | EBAK | Ethylene-butyl acrylate plastic | |
| 27 | EC | ethyl cellulose | |
| 28 | EEAK | Ethylene-ethyl acrylate plastic | |
| 29 | EMA | Ethylene-methacrylic acid plastic | |
| 30 | EP | epoxide
| |
| 31 | ETFE | Ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene plastic | |
| 32 | EVA | Ethylene-vinyl acetate plastic | |
| 33 | EVOH | Ethylene-vinyl alcohol plastic | |
| 34 | FEP | perfluoro (ethylene-propylene) plastic | |
| 35 | FF | Furan-formaldehyde resin | |
| 36 | LCP | Liquid-crystal polymer | |
| 37 | MABS | methyl methacrylate-acrylnitrile-butadiene-styrene plastic | |
| 38 | MBS | methyl methacrylate-butadiene-styrene plastic | |
| 39 | MC | methyl cellulose | |
| 40 | MF | Melamine-formaldahyde resin | |
| 41 | MP | Melamine-phenol resin | |
| 42 | MSAN | α-methylstyrene-acrylonitrile plastic | |
| 43 | PA | polyamide | |
| 44 | PAA | poly(acrylic acid) | |
| 45 | PAEK | polyaryletherketone | |
| 46 | PAI | polyamidimide | |
| 47 | PAK | polyacrylate | |
| 48 | PAN | polyacrylonitrile | |
| 49 | PAR | polyarylate | |
| 50 | PARA | poly(aryl amide) | |
| 51 | PB | polybutene | |
| 52 | PBAK | poly(butyl acrylate) | |
| 53 | PBAT | poly(butylene adipate/terephthalate) | |
| 54 | PBD | 1,2-polybutadiene | |
| 55 | PBN | poly(butylene napthalate) | |
| 56 | PBS | polybuthylenesuccinate | |
| 57 | PBT | poly(butylene terephthalate) | |
| 58 | PC | polycarbonate | |
| 59 | PCCE | poly(cyclohexlyene dimethylene cyclo-hexanedicar-boxylate) | |
| 60 | PCL | polycaprolactone | |
| 61 | PCT | poly(cyclonhexylene dimethylene terephthalate) | |
| 62 | PCTFE | polychlorotrifluoroethylene | |
| 63 | PDAP | poly(diallyl phthalate) | |
| 64 | PDCPD | polydiclopentadiene | |
| 65 | PEC | polyester carbonate or poly(butylene succinate/carbonate) | |
| 66 | PEC | polyestercarbonate | |
| 67 | PE-C | polyethylene, chlorinated | |
| 68 | PEEK | polyetheretherketone | |
| 69 | PEEST | polyetherester | |
| 70 | PEI | polyetherimide | |
| 71 | PEK | polyetherketone | |
| 72 | LLDPE | polyethylene, linear low density | |
| 73 | MDPE | polyethylene, medium density | |
| 74 | PEN | poly(ethylene naphthalate) | |
| 75 | PEOX | poly(ethylene oxide) | |
| 76 | PES | poly(ethylene succinate) | |
| 77 | PESTUR | polyesterurethane | |
| 78 | PESU | polyethersulfone | |
| 79 | UHMWPE | polyethylene, ultra high molecular weight | |
| 80 | PEUR | polyetherurethane | |
| 81 | VLDPE | polyethylene, very low density | |
| 82 | PF | Phenol-formaldehyde resin | |
| 83 | PFA | Perfluoro alkoxyl alkane resin | |
| 84 | PGA | poly(glycolic acid) | |
| 85 | PHA | polyhydroxyalanoic or polyhydroxyalkanoates | |
| 86 | PHB | polyhydroxybutyric acid or polyhydroxybutyrate | |
| 87 | PHBV | poly-(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) | |
| 88 | PI | polyimide | |
| 89 | PIB | polyisobutylene | |
| 90 | PIR | polyisocyanurate | |
| 91 | PK | polyketone | |
| 92 | PLA | polylactic acid or poly lactide | |
| 93 | PMI | polymethacrylimide | |
| 94 | PMMA | poly(methyl methacrylate) | |
| 95 | PMMI | Poly-N-methylmethacrylimide | |
| 96 | PMP | poly-4-methylpenten-1 | |
| 97 | PMS | Poly-α-methylstyrene | |
| 98 | POM | polyoxymethylene
| |
| 99 | PPC | carbon dioxide and propylene copolymer | |
| 100 | PPDO | Poly(p-dioxanone) | |
| 101 | PPE | poly(phenylene ether) | |
| 102 | PP-E | polypropylene, expandable | |
| 103 | PP-HI | polypropylene, high impact | |
| 104 | PPOX | poly(propylene oxide) | |
| 105 | PPS | poly(phenylene sulfide) | |
| 106 | PPSU | poly(phenylene sulfone) | |
| 107 | EPS | polystyrene, expandable | |
| 108 | HIPS | polystyrene, high impact | |
| 109 | PSU | polysulfone | |
| 110 | PTFE | poly tetrafluoroethylene | |
| 111 | PTMAT | poly(tetramethylene adipate/terephthalate) | |
| 112 | PTT | poly(trimethylene terephthalene) | |
| 113 | PUR | polyurethane | |
| 114 | PVA | poly(vinyl acetate) | |
| 115 | PVOH | poly(vinyl alcohol) | |
| 116 | PVB | poly(vinyl butyral) | |
| 117 | PVC-C | poly(vinyl chloride), chlorinated | |
| 118 | PVC-U | poly(vinyl chloride), unplasticized | |
| 119 | PVDC | poly(vinylidene chloride) | |
| 120 | PVDF | poly(vinylidene fluoride) | |
| 121 | PVF | poly(vinyl fluoride) | |
| 122 | PVFM | poly(vinyl formal) | |
| 123 | PVK | Poly-N-vinylcarbazole | |
| 124 | PVP | Poly-N-vinylpyrrolidine | |
| 125 | SAN | Styrene-acrylonitrile plastic | |
| 126 | SB | Styrene-butadiene plastic | |
| 127 | SI | silicone plastic | |
| 128 | SMAH | Styrene-maleic anyhydride plastic | |
| 129 | SMS | Styrene-α-methylstyrene plastic | |
| 130 | UF | Urea-formaldehyde resin | |
| 131 | UP | unsaturated polyester resin | |
| 132 | VCE | vinyl chloride-ethylene plastic | |
| 133 | VCEMAK | vinyl chloride-ethylene-methyle-acrylate plastic | |
| 134 | VCEVAC | vinyl chloride-ethylene-vinyl acrylate plastic | |
| 135 | VCMAK | vinyl chloride-methyl acrylate plastic | |
| 136 | VCMMA | vinyl chloride-methyl methacrylate plastic | |
| 137 | VCOAK | vinyl chloride-octyl acrylate plastic | |
| 138 | VCVAC | vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate plastic | |
| 139 | VCVDC | Vinylchloride-vynylidene chloride plastic | |
| 140 | VE | vinyl ester resin |
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.[8] Thus, they are not all automatically recyclable.
How2Recycle is a project that started in 2008.[9] 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.[10]