Federal Trade Commission n Bureau of Consumer Protection n Office of Consumer and Business Education

Consumer Alert

Eco-Speak:

A Users Guide to the Language of Recycling

Its no secret that consumers are interested in buying products that are kind to the environment. But whenit comes to recycling, can you heed what you read?

The Federal Trade Commission, which seeks to protect consumers from deceptive and unsubstantiated

advertising, says claims on products and packaging about recyclability and recycled content may be

misunderstood. Heres what the FTC wants consumers to know:

A product or package can be marketed as recyclable if it can be separated and collected from

household and commercial trash for reuse, or to make another product or package, through an

established recycling program.

Product labels that say Please Recycle are relevant only if your community collects the products for

recyclingand meaningless if it doesnt. Contact your city or county government to find out about

curbside pick-up or drop-off alternatives for recycling plastic, glass, metal, and newspapers and other

paper products.

Sometimes, businesses recycle products for you. For example, many grocery stores take back their

plastic grocery bags. And some manufacturers of toner cartridges have programs that allow consumers

to return their empty cartridges, which are then re-used for remanufacturing.

Manufacturers and marketers may claim that a product or package has recycled content if it is made

with materials that have been recovered or separated from the trash during the manufacturing process

(pre-consumer) or after consumer use (post-consumer). Previously used newspapers, shipping cartons,

plastic bottles, glass containers, and metal cans are considered post-consumer waste. Leftover

manufacturing scrapsfor example, the scraps left over when envelopes are cut from paperare

considered pre-consumer waste.

this box is made from recycled

fibers and has 35 percent of

post-consumer content

recyclable please

recycle

November 1998
Recycled products are made from products that have been melted down or ground up and made into

new products. Or they may have been made from materials that are used, reconditioned or

remanufactured. If a product is labeled recycled because it contains used, reconditioned or

remanufactured parts, the label also must say the product is used, reconditioned or

remanufactured unless that fact is obvious to the buyer.

If a label says recycled, it must tell the percentage of recycled contentunless its 100 percent.

Certain symbols placed on consumer products mean that you may be able to recycle the product or

packagedepending on your communitys programor that the product or package is made from

recycled materials.

This universal recycling symbol means that the product is both recyclable and made of

recycled materials. If only one of these claims is true, the manufacturer should say

which one.

Manufacturers use this look-alike symbol, developed by the Society of the Plastics

Industry, to indicate the type of plastic used for the packaging. SPI code numbers range

from 1 to 7. Check with your local recycling office to find out which codes are

acceptable for recycling in your community. Not all communities collect and recycle

containers with the same codes.

The bottom line: Every community has its own recycling program. Just because a product or package

carries the universal recycling symbol or says its recyclable doesnt mean it will be collected for recycling in

your neighborhood. To help your community save the time and money it spends separating the items it

recycles from the ones it doesnt, find out which are appropriate for the recycling bins. If you have questions

about a particular item, check with your local recycling office.

For more information about general advertising issues, write to the FTCs Consumer Response Center, FTC,

Washington, DC 20580, or visit the FTC online at www.ftc.gov.