5 ms·

I hope they’re not confusing the resin symbols with the recycling symbol.

by swiley 5y ago

gruez 5y ago
That's exactly what's happening. They're banning the use of the resin symbol unless it's also recyclable (by California standards), to reduce consumer confusion.
tantalor 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code
- hiidrew 5y ago
  smh this is some evil shit. damn plastic industry.
Denvercoder9 5y ago
The resin symbols were purposely made misleading to let consumers think that plastic was recyclable even when it wasn't. I don't think banning them would be that bad.
- q1w2 5y ago
  No. They were made to help communities separate plastics into those that can vs cannot be recycled. That's why they are on the plastic, and why they have the recycle shape.
asoneth 5y ago
Clearly the resin identification code and the recycling symbol are causing consumer confusion due to the fact that almost everyone confuses them. The US Society of the Plastics Industry designed their resin identification code in 1988 and made it similar to the recycling symbol which had been in use since 1970, even though many of the plastics thus labeled were not generally recyclable. According to wikipedia[1] they eventually changed the RIC "chasing arrows" to a solid triangle in 2013 to address consumer confusion, but I still see a lot of plastics sporting the chasing arrow symbol. I hope efforts like California's succeed so that the recycling symbol can be reserved for products that can be recycled in practice. (i.e. there are more than a token number of municipal facilities that process that type of plastic into a reusable form) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code
- corpo_punisho 5y ago
  Why were they allowed to change their symbol to resemble the recycling symbol?
  - sp332 5y ago
    The recycling symbol is in the public domain. It's not even trademarked.
    - corpo_punisho 5y ago
      That doesn't mean the plastics industry should be able to pass off their materials as recyclable. This is is a good move by California.
- marcosdumay 5y ago
  By 88 there weren't many products using the recycling symbol on their labels. The resin identification symbols were the first ones to get widespread usage, and I imagine they used the arrows because they are about recycling, even if they don't mean "this product is recyclable". The ideas about government policy on product labeling became popular a bit later than that, and the resin identification codes, together with food nutritional values were the main responsible for that.
  - asoneth 5y ago
    > by [19]88 there weren't many products using the recycling symbol on their labels. My understanding[1] is that in the 1970s the paper industry was the first to adopt a three-arrow symbol for paper products that could be recycled and later a slightly different three-arrow symbol for products that were made from recycled paper products. These seem in alignment with consumer understanding of the symbol. I also recall seeing the three arrow recycling symbol on bins at school in the 1980s so it was certainly in use by that point. > I imagine they used the arrows because they are about recycling Had resin identification codes restricted their use of the three-arrow design to plastics that were widely recyclable or products made from recycled plastic then I would have no issue. But some of the resin symbols (e.g. 7) essentially mean "not recyclable" and that is obviously causing confusion to consumers because people keep putting them in the plastic recycling. It's confusing enough that the recycling center near me provides the following guidance: "The numbers on plastics are not great indicators of whether something can be recycled in a typical recycling program. Our advice is to think about the shape of your plastics. If they are clean and empty plastic bottles, jars, jugs or tubs, they are what we are looking for!" > even if they don't mean "this product is recyclable" Using a symbol to mean the exact opposite of its conventional meaning seems liable to cause consumer confusion. [1] https://medium.com/@shengmorni/1970-ad0c58b5a9dc https://medium.com/@shengmorni/1970-ad0c58b5a9dc
LeifCarrotson 5y ago
Who is "They" that you hope are not confused? Are you worried about the legislators and their expert advisors? Certainly some experts at least are academically aware that U+2672 ♲, three clockwise arrows in a triangle, recycling symbol which indicates the product can be recycled or is accepted by curbside recycling pickup programs, is not the same as U+2676 ♶, three clockwise arrows in a triangle with a tiny number inside indicating LDPE resin, which typically means the product is not accepted for recycling. But this is not common knowledge. I hope you're not confused into thinking that the average consumer knows the difference between the resin symbols and the recycling symbol!
recursive 5y ago
As a regular guy who sometimes decides to put things in the recycling or the trash, I absolutely am confusing them. I had no idea, until reading this comment, that those are separate things. Now I don't understand anything.

I hope they’re not confusing the resin symbols with the recycling symbol.

by swiley 5y ago

I hope they’re not confusing the resin symbols with the recycling symbol.

That's exactly what's happening. They're banning the use of the resin symbol unless it's also recyclable (by California standards), to reduce consumer confusion.

tantalor 5y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code

hiidrew 5y ago
smh this is some evil shit. damn plastic industry.

Denvercoder9 5y ago

The resin symbols were purposely made misleading to let consumers think that plastic was recyclable even when it wasn't. I don't think banning them would be that bad.

q1w2 5y ago
No. They were made to help communities separate plastics into those that can vs cannot be recycled. That's why they are on the plastic, and why they have the recycle shape.

asoneth 5y ago

Clearly the resin identification code and the recycling symbol are causing consumer confusion due to the fact that almost everyone confuses them. The US Society of the Plastics Industry designed their resin identification code in 1988 and made it similar to the recycling symbol which had been in use since 1970, even though many of the plastics thus labeled were not generally recyclable. According to wikipedia[1] they eventually changed the RIC "chasing arrows" to a solid triangle in 2013 to address consumer confusion, but I still see a lot of plastics sporting the chasing arrow symbol. I hope efforts like California's succeed so that the recycling symbol can be reserved for products that can be recycled in practice. (i.e. there are more than a token number of municipal facilities that process that type of plastic into a reusable form) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code

corpo_punisho 5y ago
Why were they allowed to change their symbol to resemble the recycling symbol?
- sp332 5y ago
  The recycling symbol is in the public domain. It's not even trademarked.
  - corpo_punisho 5y ago
    That doesn't mean the plastics industry should be able to pass off their materials as recyclable. This is is a good move by California.
marcosdumay 5y ago
By 88 there weren't many products using the recycling symbol on their labels. The resin identification symbols were the first ones to get widespread usage, and I imagine they used the arrows because they are about recycling, even if they don't mean "this product is recyclable". The ideas about government policy on product labeling became popular a bit later than that, and the resin identification codes, together with food nutritional values were the main responsible for that.
- asoneth 5y ago
  > by [19]88 there weren't many products using the recycling symbol on their labels. My understanding[1] is that in the 1970s the paper industry was the first to adopt a three-arrow symbol for paper products that could be recycled and later a slightly different three-arrow symbol for products that were made from recycled paper products. These seem in alignment with consumer understanding of the symbol. I also recall seeing the three arrow recycling symbol on bins at school in the 1980s so it was certainly in use by that point. > I imagine they used the arrows because they are about recycling Had resin identification codes restricted their use of the three-arrow design to plastics that were widely recyclable or products made from recycled plastic then I would have no issue. But some of the resin symbols (e.g. 7) essentially mean "not recyclable" and that is obviously causing confusion to consumers because people keep putting them in the plastic recycling. It's confusing enough that the recycling center near me provides the following guidance: "The numbers on plastics are not great indicators of whether something can be recycled in a typical recycling program. Our advice is to think about the shape of your plastics. If they are clean and empty plastic bottles, jars, jugs or tubs, they are what we are looking for!" > even if they don't mean "this product is recyclable" Using a symbol to mean the exact opposite of its conventional meaning seems liable to cause consumer confusion. [1] https://medium.com/@shengmorni/1970-ad0c58b5a9dc https://medium.com/@shengmorni/1970-ad0c58b5a9dc

LeifCarrotson 5y ago

Who is "They" that you hope are not confused? Are you worried about the legislators and their expert advisors? Certainly some experts at least are academically aware that U+2672 ♲, three clockwise arrows in a triangle, recycling symbol which indicates the product can be recycled or is accepted by curbside recycling pickup programs, is not the same as U+2676 ♶, three clockwise arrows in a triangle with a tiny number inside indicating LDPE resin, which typically means the product is not accepted for recycling. But this is not common knowledge. I hope you're not confused into thinking that the average consumer knows the difference between the resin symbols and the recycling symbol!

recursive 5y ago

As a regular guy who sometimes decides to put things in the recycling or the trash, I absolutely am confusing them. I had no idea, until reading this comment, that those are separate things. Now I don't understand anything.