[Recycling] Signs on packages
A concept
Europe and United States are quite advanced in respect of sorting and recycling, some other countries are not so. Moving to Spain, I got to know, that you shouldn’t throw away garbage in a single bucket, but you shall separate, for example, plastic from metal and have separate containers for them.
From my country of origin almost no one cares about environment, thus, most of garbage ends up on landfills. Hence, moving to Europe, I had to learn about recycling a lot.
For several months being here, I struggled in which bin what to put and from time to time still have difficulties.
Starting from the article, I set a goal to myself to dive deeper into 3 Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) of waste management, research the theme better and explain unclear moments for people like me, so that together we become more attentive to environment around us.
Recycling is difficult
I will be honest with you. The idea of the article was born a couple of months ago. Back then, I wanted to create a single story, a manual, that covers everything related to recycling and features topics, such as
- how to sort trash in bins properly
- what you should be aware of while buying products
- what are the processes of recycling at plants
- what is an economy of secondary use items
The deeper I began to tackle this topic, the more controversial information I found. There are plenty of articles stating, that you should be cautious about environment, but without any explanation how the whole process works right now and if this is even worth it. I was upset, that it’s so hard, even nowadays, to find data analysis with reasoning behind the recycle industry, that can shed some light and explain ‘why’ in numbers.
As being said, I’ve decided to split the subject into a series of articles and collect as much information as possible about each of them.
Let's start from the beginning — when we are in a store and shopping. There are numerous signs or symbols on product packages. Some of them are related (or try to seem so) to waste management.
“Green Dot” symbol
I bet, if you were at least once at a supermarket in Europe, you’ve seen this symbol. Although, its official name is green dot, some manufacturers chose (and it is allowed to use) a black-and-white or other color combination. PRO Europe organisation (Packaging Recovery Organisation Europe) as the general licensee of “The Green Dot” trademark rights and it sets strict rules on its graphic appearance in order for a customer to not being confused.
Although you see attractive green arrows in a circle and it reminds the “Yin and yang” symbol and your brain tries to connect the package with recycling, in reality, it doesn’t relate to the item itself.
This green dot symbol means, that a manufacturer of the product financially contributes to the recovery and recycling processes. This sign encourages manufacturers to reduce the amount of packaging they use, thus reducing their license fee charge and helping the environment.
So be warned and don’t fall for it — the sign can be printed on any (and non-recyclable too) package.
If you want to know more about the Green dot sign and about a producer responsibility system in your country, you can check the pro-e.org directly (an umbrella organization for European packaging and packaging waste recovery and recycling). For example, Ecoembes (one of such organisations under PRO Europe) takes care of recycling in Spain and is responsible to certify companies for the Green dot sign usage.
“Chasing arrows” symbol
Another “Devil”, that I’m sure everyone of us is familiar with. The chasing arrows symbol, or the Mobius loop appears on pretty much all packages. The symbol is not trademark, so the use of it is not centrally regulated.
More important is to check a number inside the symbol. In 1988, the Society of the Plastics Industry developed the International Resin Identification Coding System (RIC) to identify the plastic resins from which manufacturers make items. But it was extended to cover other types of materials, such as glass, metals, batteries, etc. You can use the eur-lex page as a reference what is a material type of the package.
For example, on the image below
We have two signs:
- 70, GL: Colourless glass (a jar)
- 40, FL: Steel (a jar lid)
A common misconception is that if you see the sign, no matter what number is inside the loop, the package is recyclable. Unfortunately, this sign is stamped on ‘an object is capable of being recycled’, but it doesn’t mean, that it will be recycled.
Plastic is classified into 7 types — 7 numbers inside the chasing arrow sign. Technically, there are 6 types of plastic, because the last one is just ‘other’ plastic.
Commonly recyclable are only 1st and 2nd (rarely — the 5th). It is an obligation to throw away such package into a plastic bin, but it doesn’t mean, that it will be recycled afterwards in reality.
FSC label
FSC abbreviation stands for “Forest Stewardship Council”. The organisation is focused on sustainable forestry. Some packages (that are produced from paper or carton, of course) can be certified and proudly wear this label. By buying items with the label, you can be sure, that you help forests.
There are 3 types of certifications:
- FSC 100%: all sourced materials of the labelled product come from FSC-certified forests (basically, from sustainable forests, that are properly maintained and managed)
- FSC Recycled: the materials used for the products are 100% recycled
- FSC Mix: the product is made with a mix of materials from FSC-certified forests, recycled sources and/or FSC controlled wood
The last one — Mix (or Mixto in Spanish, from the image above) is the most commonly used.
The whole program is built around the idea of sustainable forestry and encourages the use of only authorized forest stands, avoiding illegal and irreversible deforestation.
Voluntary labelling system in Spain
The last, but not least — a symbol, that literally tells where to throw away a package. This sign is an initiative of Ecoembes (remember it from the Green Dot section?) - Manual de uso para empresas — if you know Spanish, you are welcome to check how companies can use this symbol.
The symbol informs citizens about the correct separation and disposal. In my opinion, it’s the best sign, that gives clarification where to put trash, especially for a foreigner.
This is not mandatory, although, I see this sign more and more often, especially on the packaging of products made inside Spain.
Summary
Recycling is not easy, especially if you want to do everything properly. Signs on packages can be misleading. I hope, that next time when you buy comestibles, you’ll be more attentive to products and various icons on packages will not be a mystery anymore.
Let’s take care of the environment together and see you in the next episode.
