OPRL — Recycle / Don't Recycle (UK)
What it looks like
A rounded rectangle containing the word "Recycle" or "Don't Recycle", sometimes with an instruction such as "Rinse" or "Recycle with bags at large supermarkets".
What it means
The On-Pack Recycling Label is one of the few marks that describes reality rather than possibility: a component is labelled Recycle when a large majority of UK local authorities collect it and it is actually reprocessed, and Don't Recycle otherwise. Because the rule is about collection, the same material can be labelled differently in different formats — a clear PET bottle says Recycle while a black PET tray may not. It is UK-specific and means nothing outside it; a pack sold in several markets often carries OPRL and the Green Dot together, saying two unrelated things.
Defined by OPRL Ltd labelling rules. 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 (chasing arrows) | The producer claims the item can be recycled — not that it will be, and not that your council collects it. |
| 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. |
| 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 oprl — recycle / don't recycle (uk) symbol mean?
- Whether this specific component is collected by most UK councils.
- What does it look like?
- A rounded rectangle containing the word "Recycle" or "Don't Recycle", sometimes with an instruction such as "Rinse" or "Recycle with bags at large supermarkets".
Related pages
- 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.
- Triman (France) In France, this product or packaging is subject to sorting rules and must not go in the general waste.
- Mobius loop (chasing arrows) The producer claims the item can be recycled — not that it will be, and not that your council collects it.
- Mobius loop (chasing arrows) The producer claims the item can be recycled — not that it will be, and not that your council collects it.
- 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.
Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place