We'd like to use analytics cookies to understand which symbols people look up, so we know what to research next. They are not used for advertising and we set none of them unless you say yes. What we store.
Real, separately governed packaging marks that are frequently mistaken for each other or for the plain recycling loop — a producer-financing scheme, legal disposal instructions, and independent certifications all look similar at a glance but mean very different things.
Three chasing arrows forming a triangular loop, used internationally to indicate recyclability or recycled content.
Two interlocking green arrows forming a circular motif, marking that a packaging producer has paid into a European packaging-recovery scheme.
A crossed-out wheeled bin symbol required on electrical and electronic products under EU law, instructing separate collection rather than general disposal.
A crossed-out wheeled bin symbol, sometimes marked with Pb, Cd or Hg, required on batteries under EU law to signal separate collection.
A stick-figure pictogram of a person putting litter into a bin, a UK-trademarked anti-littering mark that also appears informally on packaging worldwide.
A stylised sprout icon certifying that packaging meets the EN 13432 standard for industrial compostability.
The same three-arrow recycling loop with a numeric percentage inside or alongside it, denoting the proportion of recycled material actually contained in a product.
A checkmark-and-tree logo certifying that wood or paper-based packaging material comes from responsibly managed forestry.
Alphanumeric codes (such as PAP, FE, ALU, GL) identifying non-plastic packaging material composition under EU rules, parallel to the plastics resin codes.
A blue-circle ISO 7010 safety sign showing a person disposing of litter in a bin, instructing use of a litter bin in workplaces and public spaces.
An informal, uncertified leaf or sprout-style icon marketing a product as biodegradable — unlike the certified Seedling logo, with no fixed graphic or independent standard behind it.