With Earth Day rapidly approaching, now is a good time to reflect on a symbol intrinsically related to our identity as environmentalists: the recycling symbol. The symbol was designed in 1969 as an entry to a contest put on by a container company in response to the upcoming first Earth Day in 1970.
Gary Anderson, a young graphic designer, was inspired by the Mobius Strip and the infinite loop it represents – he designed the logo we are all so familiar with: three arrows that endlessly chase each other in a closed loop.
The recycling mobius symbol was never trademarked – it is in the public domain. Contrary to popular belief, there is not official regulation of its use. This means that the symbol can appear on any item – although the attorney general has the right to sue for obviously misleading the public.
The symbol has been used in conjunction with numbered codes in a system developed by the Society of the Plastics Industry since the late 1980’s to assist commercial recyclers with sorting, resulting in confusion among average citizens. This explains how the symbol has ended up on some questionable items, like Styrofoam (which should never go in the single-stream recycling bins).
(Mike Bitzenhofer – flickr – https://www.flickr.com/photos/bitzcelt/)
Interestingly, on a how-to-use page of the Plastic Industry, they give the following advice to avoid the legal ramifications of mis-using the code alongside the symbol:
“Make the code inconspicuous at the point of purchase so it does not influence the consumer’s buying decision,” and “do not make recycling claims in close proximity to the code, even if such claims are properly qualified.”
Many people assume the three arrows of the recycling mobius indicate that the item is recyclable, but this is not the case.
The Plastic Industry closes their informational page to manufacturers with this important information:
“The code was not intended to be – nor was it ever promoted as – a guarantee to consumers that a given item bearing the code will be accepted for recycling in their community.”
The moral of this recycling Mobius story? Those comforting, well designed arrows do not indicate the recyclablity of an item.
An easy way to avoid confusion is to remember that, as of 2016, #1-7 plastics (except Styrofoam) go in the blue bins.
