---
title: "Packaging and recycling symbols explained"
description: "Every packaging and recycling symbol and what it means — 14 of them, with what each looks like and what happens if you ignore it."
url: https://atoneplace.net/symbol/packaging/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Packaging and recycling symbols

14 packaging and recycling symbols, each with what it looks like and what it actually requires.

| Symbol | Looks like | Means |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mobius loop (chasing arrows) | Three folded arrows chasing each other in a triangle, each one twisted so the loop has a single continuous surface. | 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 three chasing arrows with a number and per-cent sign inside or beside them, such as 80%. | The pack contains that percentage of recycled material. |
| Green Dot (Der Grüne Punkt) | Two interlocking arrows forming a circle, one light green and one dark green, chasing each other clockwise. Often printed in black and white. | The producer paid into a national packaging recovery scheme. It does not mean the pack is recyclable, recycled, or made of recycled material. |
| Tidyman | A stick figure walking towards a waste bin, dropping something into it. | Dispose of this thoughtfully. It has nothing to do with recycling. |
| Glass recycling (bottle bank) symbol | A figure putting a bottle into a bottle bank, or a bottle and jar above a bin outline. | Take this glass to a bottle bank or glass collection. |
| Aluminium recycling (alu) | Two curved arrows chasing each other around the letters "alu", or the word ALU inside a Mobius loop. | The item is aluminium and can be recycled as aluminium. |
| Recyclable steel | A horseshoe magnet with an arrow curving around it, sometimes with the word STEEL. | The item is steel — usually tinplate — and is separated magnetically for recycling. |
| Compostable seedling (EN 13432) | A stylised two-leafed seedling sprouting from a curved line, usually in a circle. Marketed as the Seedling mark or OK compost INDUSTRIAL. | Certified to break down in an industrial composting facility — not in a home heap, a bin or the environment. |
| Home compostable | A seedling or leaf mark with the word HOME, or a seedling inside a house outline. TÜV Austria issues it as OK compost HOME. | Certified to break down in an ordinary garden compost heap at ambient temperature. |
| FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) | A tree whose trunk doubles as a tick mark, with the letters FSC beneath. | The wood or paper comes from forests audited against the Forest Stewardship Council standard. |
| PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) | Two stylised trees inside a circle formed by arrows, with PEFC below. | The wood or paper is certified under a national forestry scheme that PEFC endorses. |
| OPRL — Recycle / Don't Recycle (UK) | 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". | Whether this specific component is collected by most UK councils. |
| Triman (France) | A figure in profile with an arrow at the hip splitting into three arrows, one grey and two green. | In France, this product or packaging is subject to sorting rules and must not go in the general waste. |
| Estimated sign (℮) | A lowercase letter e in a rounded, italic style, printed immediately after the weight or volume. | The quantity is an average across the batch, checked under the EU average-quantity system. |

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