Your essential recycling guide Recycling symbols

General recycling symbols

You're sure to recognise some of these common recycling symbols, but do you know the meaning of them all?

Recycling logos
Logo	Meaning
Mobius Loop	This item can be recycled where correct facilities exist.
Mobius loop (with percentage)	This item contains x% of recycled material and can be recycled where correct facilities exist.
Green dot	In participating countries this means the manufacturer is funding a recycling program for products with this label. The UK isn’t a participating country.
WEEE directive	Shows that a product can be recycled separately from other household waste under the WEEE directive.
EU flower	An EU-wide award for non-food products that minimise impacts on the environment – detergents that are less harmful to rivers, lakes and oceans, for example.
Tidy man	Do not litter. A familiar addition to the packaging of many everyday items, this symbol simply suggests that the bearer should dispose of this carefully and thoughtfully.
Aluminium	This product (usually a drinks can) is made from recyclable aluminium.
Glass	Please put this recyclable glass container in a bottle bank.

Plastic recycling symbols

These symbols identify the type of plastic used in a packaging. Some councils only collect certain types for recycling – use the table below to identify which is which.

Plastic symbols and their meanings
Logo	Meaning
PETE	Polyethylene Terepthalate
HDPE	High Density Polyethylene
V	PVC
LDPE	Low Density Polyethylene
PP	Polypropylene
PS	Polystyrene
OTHER	All other resins and multi-materials