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.
Three chasing arrows forming a triangular loop, used internationally to indicate recyclability or recycled content.
Also known as: Chasing arrows symbol, Möbius loop
Designed in 1970 by Gary Anderson, then a university student, for a Container Corporation of America competition, the three-arrow loop — inspired by the Möbius strip — represents the continuous cycle of collecting, processing and reusing materials, and was placed in the public domain.
Represents the continuous cycle of collecting, processing and reusing materials; created for a 1970 Container Corporation of America student design competition and placed in the public domain for open use.
1970 onward · Contexts: Packaging
Commonly assumed to mean an item is recyclable wherever it is seen — in fact, especially in its numbered form, it often only identifies the plastic resin type, not guaranteed recyclability in a specific local collection system.
Local recyclability depends on the collection system in a given area, not on the presence of the symbol alone.
Contexts: Packaging
Carries two opposite claims in the same drawing. A bare Möbius loop asserts that the item can be recycled; the same loop with a percentage inside it asserts that the item was *made from* that proportion of recycled material. Nothing in the shape distinguishes them, which is why the figure inside is worth looking for.
Contexts: Packaging
Is not evidence that a local collection accepts the item. The mark is a claim by the producer about the material; whether it is collected depends on the authority, the sorting plant and the market for the recovered material at the time, all of which vary by postcode and by year.
Contexts: Packaging, Public information
Answers a different question from the wording panel beside it. The loop is a claim about the material; a panel reading widely recycled, check locally or not recycled is a claim about whether a collection exists, which is what decides which bin the item goes in.
Contexts: Packaging
Related forms that are not treated as separate canonical symbols — see our variant rules.
Resin code 1 — PETE/PET (polyethylene terephthalate)
The numeral 1 inside the triangle identifies polyethylene terephthalate — common in beverage bottles and food jars — under the ASTM D7611/SPI Resin Identification Code system. Indicates material composition, not guaranteed local recyclability.
Resin code 2 — HDPE (high-density polyethylene)
The numeral 2 identifies high-density polyethylene — common in milk jugs and detergent bottles — one of the two resin codes most widely accepted in kerbside collection.
Resin code 3 — PVC (polyvinyl chloride)
The numeral 3 identifies polyvinyl chloride — used in pipes and some packaging — rarely accepted in standard kerbside recycling streams.
Resin code 4 — LDPE (low-density polyethylene)
The numeral 4 identifies low-density polyethylene — used in plastic bags and film — typically requiring separate drop-off collection rather than kerbside bins.
Resin code 5 — PP (polypropylene)
The numeral 5 identifies polypropylene — used in tubs and bottle caps — increasingly, though not universally, accepted in kerbside collection.
Resin code 6 — PS (polystyrene)
The numeral 6 identifies polystyrene — used in foam packaging and disposable cutlery — rarely accepted in standard kerbside recycling streams.
Resin code 7 — Other/miscellaneous plastics
The numeral 7 is a catch-all for plastics not covered by codes 1–6, or multi-layer/composite plastics — essentially never accepted in kerbside recycling streams.
Three bent arrows, each pointing to the next, arranged to form a triangle.
The plain Mobius loop asserts recyclability; the resin codes borrow its arrows to identify a plastic and assert nothing about recycling.
Both belong to the Packaging, recycling and disposal symbols system.
Both belong to the Packaging, recycling and disposal symbols system.
The loop on packaging is a claim about a material; the same loop on a bin marks a place to deposit.
Both belong to the Packaging, recycling and disposal symbols system.
The loop claims the material is recyclable; the wording panel says whether it is actually collected.
Both belong to the Packaging, recycling and disposal symbols system.
Both belong to the Packaging, recycling and disposal symbols system.
In September 2024, the California Attorney General filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil alleging decades of deceptive claims about plastic recyclability, including allegations that the industry promoted use of the chasing-arrows recycling symbol on products despite knowing that most plastic could not, in practice, be economically recycled. The claims were disputed by ExxonMobil.