Biden Admin Seeks to Change Misleading Recycling Logo

What's the story?

• The familiar recycling logo, with its triangular chasing arrows, has been a universal symbol for five decades. However, the Biden administration is now deciding whether or not it is misleading and should be phased out.
• Designed by a college student for the first annual Earth Day in 1970, it graces packaging worldwide, nudging consumers to recycle rather than discard a given item. 

Misleading logo?

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Biden administration now think the logo is misleading, stoking "consumer confusion about what is recyclable and/or compostable" as recycling centers do not routinely accept many packages that feature the logo.
• A 2019 report from the Consumer Brands Association found that 68% of Americans mistakenly assume that any product with the recycling symbol is recyclable. The report found that 24% didn't know the symbols' meaning at all. 
• In EPA comments lodged with the Federal Trade Commission, the agency has called for the logo to be removed from an entire class of plastics.
• Plastics are categorized by "resin numbers", which provides more details about the plastic and how easily recycled they are. Resin one and two plastics, such as bottles and jugs, are the most easily recycled products and are not the target of the EPA complaint.
• The EPA takes issue with the recycling logo being placed next to resin categories three to seven which include plastic bags and Styrofoam. These are typically sent to landfills or burned, releasing toxic chemicals into the air.
• The EPA argues that placing the chasing arrows symbol upon resin three to seven plastics "does not accurately represent recyclability as many plastics (especially 3-7) do not have end markets, and are not financially viable to recycle."
• Environmental groups are also pointing to the logo as a sign of "greenwashing." A 2020 report by Greenpeace found that corporations like Nestlé, Walmart, and Unilever use misleading recyclable labels.

The big picture

• American households produce roughly 51 million tons of plastic waste a year, and only 5% is recycled. Greenpeace research shows that only 4% of plastic bags and 7% of plastic cups are accepted for recycling in the U.S.
• The recycling rates of the easiest-to-recycle plastics, PET and HDPE bottles, are 29.1% and 29.3%, respectively.
• The world currently produces 430 million tons of plastics a year, two-thirds of which are single-use or short-lived plastics.

What are people saying?

• John Hocevar from Greenpeace said:

"Instead of getting serious about moving away from single-use plastic, corporations are hiding behind the pretense that their throwaway packaging is recyclable. We know now that this is untrue. The jig is up."

• Kate Melges from Greenpeace said:

"Companies must move beyond the outdated, failed approach of promoting recycling as the solution to excessive plastic waste and pollution."

What's next?

• California passed a law in 2021 to restrict the use of the logo.
• A 2022 paper published in Environmental Science & Policy suggested a new method of labeling:

"In our paper, we've made recommendations to labeling which move [the] focus from recyclability to sustainability, are specific to the region of purchase, and inform the public about plastic additive content."

• The United Nations warned in a recent report that single-use plastics need to be eliminated entirely, part of a series of reforms that could reduce global plastic pollution by 80% by 2040.

Do you think the recycling logo is misleading?

—Emma Kansiz