---
title: "Mobius loop (chasing arrows) — what it means"
description: "The producer claims the item can be recycled — not that it will be, and not that your council collects it. What the symbol looks like, what happens if you ignore it,"
url: https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-mobius-loop/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Mobius loop (chasing arrows)

**Mobius loop (chasing arrows): The producer claims the item can be recycled — not that it will be, and not that your council collects it.**

♲

## What it looks like

Three folded arrows chasing each other in a triangle, each one twisted so the loop has a single continuous surface.

## What it means

Designed in 1970 and never trademarked, which is why it appears on everything. Under ISO 14021 a self-declared recyclable claim is only supposed to be made where collection facilities exist for a reasonable proportion of buyers, but the mark is unpoliced in most markets and is routinely printed on packaging that no domestic scheme accepts. It is also the shape people confuse with the resin identification triangle: chasing arrows with a number inside are the resin code and identify the polymer, while a bare loop is a recyclability claim.

> Defined by ISO 14021. Where a symbol differs between standards, the difference is described above rather than resolved — both versions are in circulation on real labels.

## Other packaging and recycling symbols

| Symbol | Means |
| --- | --- |
| Mobius loop with a percentage | The pack contains that percentage of recycled material. |
| Green Dot (Der Grüne Punkt) | The producer paid into a national packaging recovery scheme. It does not mean the pack is recyclable, recycled, or made of recycled material. |
| Tidyman | Dispose of this thoughtfully. It has nothing to do with recycling. |
| Glass recycling (bottle bank) symbol | Take this glass to a bottle bank or glass collection. |
| Aluminium recycling (alu) | The item is aluminium and can be recycled as aluminium. |
| Recyclable steel | The item is steel — usually tinplate — and is separated magnetically for recycling. |
| Compostable seedling (EN 13432) | Certified to break down in an industrial composting facility — not in a home heap, a bin or the environment. |
| Home compostable | Certified to break down in an ordinary garden compost heap at ambient temperature. |
| FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) | The wood or paper comes from forests audited against the Forest Stewardship Council standard. |
| PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) | The wood or paper is certified under a national forestry scheme that PEFC endorses. |
| OPRL — Recycle / Don't Recycle (UK) | Whether this specific component is collected by most UK councils. |
| Triman (France) | In France, this product or packaging is subject to sorting rules and must not go in the general waste. |
| Estimated sign (℮) | The quantity is an average across the batch, checked under the EU average-quantity system. |

## Common questions

### What does the mobius loop (chasing arrows) symbol mean?

The producer claims the item can be recycled — not that it will be, and not that your council collects it.

### What does it look like?

Three folded arrows chasing each other in a triangle, each one twisted so the loop has a single continuous surface.

## Related pages

- [Mobius loop with a percentage](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-mobius-percentage/)
- [Resin identification code (the number in a triangle)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/plastic-resin-code/)
- [Green Dot (Der Grüne Punkt)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-green-dot/)
- [OPRL — Recycle / Don't Recycle (UK)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-oprl/)
- [Mobius loop with a percentage](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-mobius-percentage/)
- [Green Dot (Der Grüne Punkt)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-green-dot/)
- [Tidyman](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-tidyman/)
- [Glass recycling (bottle bank) symbol](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-glass-recycling/)
- [Aluminium recycling (alu)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-aluminium/)
- [Recyclable steel](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-steel/)
- [Compostable seedling (EN 13432)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-compostable-seedling/)
- [Home compostable](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-home-compostable/)
- [FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-fsc/)
- [PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging-pefc/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)