Recycling symbols
The recycling symbol ♻ — three arrows chasing each other in a loop — is one of the most recognized signs on Earth, and one of the most misunderstood: the plain recycle symbol makes a general claim, while the numbered versions on plastic quietly say something narrower. This page copies the whole family and separates what each mark actually promises.
Copy the recycling family
Recycling lines ready to copy
The plastic codes 1–7, honestly translated
| Code | Resin | Typical items — and the honest note |
|---|---|---|
| ♳ 1 | PET | Drinks bottles — the most widely recycled plastic |
| ♴ 2 | HDPE | Milk jugs, detergent bottles — widely accepted |
| ♵ 3 | PVC | Pipes, blister packs — rarely curbside-recycled |
| ♶ 4 | LDPE | Bags and films — usually store drop-off only |
| ♷ 5 | PP | Tubs and caps — acceptance growing |
| ♸ 6 | PS | Foam cups — rarely accepted |
| ♹ 7 | OTHER | Everything else — mixed or newer resins |
The numbers were introduced in 1988 to identify resin for sorters — a code inside chasing arrows was never a promise that your council collects it, which is why the marks confuse people to this day. The plain ♻ loop is different: drawn in 1970 by 23-year-old architecture student Gary Anderson for a design contest around the first Earth Day, it was never trademarked — a Möbius strip of three folded arrows that belongs to everyone.
How to type it
| Platform | Method |
|---|---|
| Windows / Word | Type 267B then Alt + X |
| Mac | Character Viewer (search “recycling”), or copy it here |
| HTML | No named entity — numeric code 9851 |
| Phone | ♻️ sits in the emoji keyboard’s symbol set on most phones |
Explore more
The hazard side of labels lives on the warning symbols page, and every sign’s name and sense is listed in the symbol names and meanings guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does the number inside the arrows mean it can be recycled?
Not by itself — the number names the plastic resin (1 = PET, 5 = PP…) so sorters can identify it. Whether it is collected depends on your local service; 1 and 2 are accepted almost everywhere, 3, 6 and 7 rarely.
What do the three arrows stand for?
Collect, reprocess, and buy recycled — the loop only closes when someone purchases the recycled product. The shape itself is a Möbius strip: one continuous surface, deliberately endless.
Is the recycling symbol free to use?
Yes — it was placed in the public domain and never trademarked, which is part of why it spread worldwide. (The numbered resin marks have their own standards-body rules for packaging.)
What is the Green Dot, then?
A different mark entirely: it shows the producer paid into a packaging-recovery scheme in Europe — it does not mean the item is recyclable, a mix-up almost as common as the resin codes.
Why does ♻ sometimes show as a green emoji?
Unicode allows two presentations: plain text ♻ and emoji ♻️. Phones often pick the colourful one; documents and labels use the plain form.