Recycling is a collective effort, especially in the workplace. An often-overlooked part of the recycling process is understanding the symbols on product packaging—symbols that provide crucial information about how to recycle. Familiarising yourself with these symbols can enhance your recycling efforts, minimise waste, and contribute to environmental protection.

By understanding common recycling symbols, your business can take simple yet impactful steps to reduce waste and prevent contamination. This occurs when non-recyclable materials mix with recyclable ones, making it impossible to recycle the entire batch. When this happens, materials that could have been turned into new products are wasted, increasing the demand for virgin materials and adding to the strain on the environment.

Contaminating your recycling waste can also mean that your business recycling containers don’t get emptied. If your waste supplier finds non-recyclables or contaminated waste frequently in your containers, they can simply refuse to dispose of you waste until you correct your practices.

To avoid this, it’s helpful to learn more about the recycling labels you commonly encounter. In this blog, we’ll take you through what these symbols mean and how you can use this knowledge to create a more sustainable waste management practice in your business.

What are recycling symbols?

Recycling symbols are visual cues found on packaging that tell you whether an item is recyclable and how to properly dispose of it. These labels range from well-known icons to lesser-known markers that specify material types. The UK government is working towards simplifying these labels, but until then, understanding the variety of symbols is key to proper waste management.

Not every product has a recycling label, and not all symbols indicate recyclability. Some items can be recycled even if they don’t have a symbol, while others may have a symbol but require extra steps for proper disposal.

Common recycling symbols and what they mean

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common recycling symbols and what they tell you:

Why understanding symbols matters

When misinterpreting recycling symbols, you risk contaminating the recycling stream. For instance, throwing food waste or soiled items into the recycling bin can lead to the entire batch being discarded. This results in recyclable materials being sent to landfill, which means more new materials must be produced to replace them, contributing to resource depletion and higher emissions.

By recognising recycling symbols, you can reduce the likelihood of contamination, which leads to cleaner recycling streams and more materials being turned into new products. This not only saves resources but also reduces the carbon footprint associated with producing new materials.

Steps to pre-cycling

Pre-cycling is the act of making smart choices before recycling. It involves carefully preparing items to ensure they can be effectively recycled. While it may seem straightforward, in practice, pre-cycling can be a bit more complex—especially in fast-paced environments like workplaces.

Here’s how you can pre-cycle in four easy steps:

1. Check the symbols: Look at the packaging and see if there are any recycling symbols that tell you how to dispose of the item.
2. Separate materials: Remove any non-recyclable parts, such as plastic film or food residue, from the packaging.
3. Clean the packaging: Rinse or wipe away any remaining food or liquid, as dirty items can contaminate the recycling stream.
4. Choose the right bin: Finally, drop the cleaned item into the appropriate recycling bin.

By encouraging your colleagues to follow these steps, you can significantly improve the quality of the materials entering the recycling stream.

Working together to effectively recycle

Effective recycling requires participation from everyone. Businesses can support their employees by providing clear signage, grouping recycling bins together, and offering training or educational materials about recycling symbols.

To nurture a culture of pre-cycling and recycling, communication is key. Posting helpful reminders, labelling bins clearly, and offering incentives for proper recycling can go a long way in improving recycling habits.