The universal symbol for recycling, known as the “chasing arrows” logo, is stamped on so many things. But that doesn’t mean they’re recyclable.
Manufacturers can print the logo on just about any product. That’s because its main purpose isn’t to say whether it’s recyclable, but to identify the type of plastic it’s made from. (For example, if there’s a “3” in the center, it’s PVC, which most curbside recycling programs don’t accept.) The logo is so widely misunderstood that last year California banned its use on things that aren’t recyclable.
There are efforts to improve the system. But first, the central question:
Why is this so hard?
The rules are confusing.
The unhelpful symbol is just one aspect of a recycling system that is far too confusing to be broadly effective. It puts the burden on individuals to decode a secret language — to figure out not only whether a thing is recyclable, but also if their local recycling program actually accepts it.
For reasons like these, only a small proportion of recyclable plastics actually get recycled.
Take those numbers, for example, the ones in the center of the symbol. There are seven types (here’s the full list).
Items marked 1 and 2 are widely recyclable in the United States, and about 30 percent ends up being recycled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Type 5 is also accepted by a growing number of curbside recycling programs. But other numbers — particularly for soft plastics like shopping bags, snack bags or resealable sandwich bags, generally labeled 4 — are not accepted in curbside programs. And category 7 is a catch-all for various plastics, so it’s almost never recycled.
Pete Keller, vice president of recycling and sustainability at Republic Services, one of the largest recycling companies in the United States, said a general rule of thumb was this: Rigid plastic packaging goes in the recycling. Anything that isn’t rigid doesn’t.
"We like to say, if it’s got a cap and a neck, or if it’s a tub with a lid, put it in the recycling bin,” he said. “And make sure that it's empty, clean, and dry.”
But you’re not done yet. Even if you sort everything perfectly, but then put the sorted plastics in an opaque bag to be picked up, you may have just wasted the effort. That’s because using opaque bags (which make it difficult to see what’s inside) can result in entire bags being thrown out instead of recycled.
Overall, only an estimated 9 percent of all plastics ever manufactured has been recycled, according to the United Nations Environment Program. The rest? Nearly 80 percent has ended up in landfills or dumps, or in the natural environment, with the remainder being burned, releasing emissions that contribute to pollution and global warming.
“We don’t recycle enough plastic, plain and simple,” said Patrick Krieger, vice president of sustainability at the Plastics Industry Association. And though recycling rates were edging up globally, particularly for certain types of plastic, “there is so much more we need to do,” he said. “The industry is constantly innovating to increase the recyclability of the products we make and including more recycled content at a record pace.”
It’s undeniable that plastics have made daily life more convenient, affordable and, in some cases, safer. Plastic has even helped in efforts to slow climate change: lightweight plastic auto parts have made vehicles more fuel-efficient, and plastic packaging can require less energy to produce and transport than alternatives like glass or metal.
Still, the world also has a huge plastic waste problem. And the problem is bigger than you.
Every town is different.
Even if people do everything right — decipher the numbers in the chasing arrows symbols, then sort their garbage — there’s not always a nearby facility to take it. That’s because recycling is handled at the local level, and every town might have different policies or procedures. And some places might not recycle at all. In recent years, amid Covid and growing difficulties finding buyers for plastic waste, some local governments have halted recycling programs.
