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The ASTM International Resin Identification Coding System, often abbreviated RIC, is a set of symbols appearing on
plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adapta ...
products that identify the plastic resin out of which the product is made. It was developed in 1988 by the Society of the Plastics Industry (now the Plastics Industry Association) in the United States, but since 2008 it has been administered by
ASTM International ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, ...
, an international
standards organization A standards organization, standards body, standards developing organization (SDO), or standards setting organization (SSO) is an organization whose primary function is developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpr ...
.


History

The US Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) first introduced the system in 1988 as the "Voluntary Plastic Container Coding System". The SPI stated that one purpose of the original SPI code was to "Provide a consistent national system to facilitate recycling of post-consumer plastics." The system has been adopted by a growing number of communities implementing recycling programs, as a tool to assist in sorting plastics. In order to deal with the concerns of recyclers across the U.S., the RIC system was designed to make it easier for workers in materials recovery and recycling facilities to sort and separate items according to their resin type. Plastics must be recycled separately, with other like materials, in order to preserve the value of the recycled material, and enable its reuse in other products after being recycled. In its original form, the symbols used as part of the RIC consisted of arrows that cycle clockwise to form a triangle that encloses a number. * 1:
polyethylene terephthalate Polyethylene terephthalate (or poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P), is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and food ...
(PETE) (beverage bottles, cups, other packaging, etc.) * 2:
high-density polyethylene High-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyethylene high-density (PEHD) is a thermoplastic polymer produced from the monomer ethylene. It is sometimes called "alkathene" or "polythene" when used for HDPE pipes. With a high strength-to-density rat ...
(HDPE) (bottles, cups, milk jugs, etc.) * 3: polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (pipes, siding, flooring, etc.) * 4:
low-density polyethylene Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is a thermoplastic made from the monomer ethylene. It was the first grade of polyethylene, produced in 1933 by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) using a high pressure process via free radical polymerization. Its ...
(LDPE) ( plastic bags, six-pack rings, tubing, etc.) * 5:
polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefins a ...
(PP) (auto parts, industrial fibres, food containers, etc.) * 6:
polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the Aromatic hydrocarbon, aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin pe ...
(PS) (plastic utensils, Styrofoam, cafeteria trays, etc.) * 7:(OTHER)/(PLA) other plastics, such as
acrylic Acrylic may refer to: Chemicals and materials * Acrylic acid, the simplest acrylic compound * Acrylate polymer, a group of polymers (plastics) noted for transparency and elasticity * Acrylic resin, a group of related thermoplastic or thermosett ...
,
nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from pet ...
,
polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily work ...
and
polylactic acid Polylactic acid, also known as poly(lactic acid) or polylactide (PLA), is a thermoplastic polyester with backbone formula or , formally obtained by condensation of lactic acid with loss of water (hence its name). It can also be prepared by ri ...
. The numbers also indicate general ease (and thus, cost-effectiveness) of recycling, with 1 being the easiest and 6 and 7 being very difficult. When a number is omitted, the arrows arranged in a triangle resemble the universal
recycling symbol The universal recycling symbol ( or in Unicode) is internationally recognized for symbol for recycling activity. The symbol's creation originates on the first Earth Day in 1970, where the logo depicted is a Möbius strip. The public domain ...
, a generic indicator of recyclability. Subsequent revisions to the RIC have replaced the arrows with a solid triangle, in order to address consumer confusion about the meaning of the RIC, and the fact that the presence of a RIC symbol on an item does not necessarily indicate that it is recyclable. In 2008,
ASTM International ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, ...
took over the administration of the RIC system and eventually issued ASTM D7611—Standard Practice for Coding Plastic Manufactured Articles for Resin Identification. In 2013 this standard was revised to change the graphic marking symbol of the RIC from the "chasing arrows" of the Recycling Symbol to a solid triangle instead. Since its introduction, the RIC has often been used as a signifier of recyclability, but the presence of a code on a plastic product does not necessarily indicate that it is recyclable any more than its absence means the plastic object is necessarily ''un''recyclable.


Table of resin codes

Sources: Below are the RIC symbols after ASTM's 2013 revision


Consumer confusion

In the United States, use of the RIC in the coding of plastics has led to ongoing consumer confusion about which plastic products are recyclable. When many plastics recycling programs were first being implemented in communities across the United States, only plastics with RICs "1" and "2" (polyethylene terephthalate and high-density polyethylene, respectively) were accepted to be recycled. The list of acceptable plastic items has grown since then, and in some areas municipal recycling programs can collect and successfully recycle most plastic products regardless of their RIC. This has led some communities to instruct residents to refer to the form of packaging (i.e. "bottles", "tubs", "lids", etc.) when determining what to include in a curbside recycling bin, rather than instructing them to rely on the RIC. To further alleviate consumer confusion, the
American Chemistry Council American Chemistry Council (ACC), formerly known as the Manufacturing Chemists' Association (at its founding in 1872) and then as the Chemical Manufacturers' Association (from 1978 until 2000), is an industry trade association for American chemic ...
launched the "Recycling Terms & Tools" program to promote standardized language that can be used to educate consumers about how to recycle plastic products. However, even when it is technically possible to recycle a particular plastic, it is often economically unfeasible to recycle it, and this can mislead consumers into thinking that more plastic is recycled than really is. In the U.S. in 2018, only 8.5% of plastic waste was recycled.


Possible new codes

Modifications to the RIC are currently being discussed and developed by ASTM's D20.95 subcommittee on recycled plastics. In the U.S. the Sustainable packaging Coalition has also created a "
How2Recycle How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...
" label in an effort to replace the RIC with a label that aligns more closely with how the public currently uses the RIC. Rather than indicating what type of plastic resin a product is made out of, the four "How2Recycle" labels indicate whether a plastic product is * Widely Recycled (meaning greater than 60 percent of the U.S. can recycle the item through a curbside recycling program or municipal drop-off location). * Limited (meaning only 20–60 percent of the U.S. can recycle the item through a curbside recycling program or municipal drop-off location). * Not Yet Recycled (meaning less than 20 percent of the U.S. can recycle the item through a curbside recycling program or municipal drop-off location). * Store Drop-Off (meaning the item can be recycled if brought to participating store drop-off locations, typically at grocery stores). The "How2Recycle" labels also encourage consumers to check with local facilities to see what plastics each municipal recycling facility can accept.


Unicode Characters

The different resin identification codes can be represented by Unicode icons ♳ (U+2673), ♴ (U+2674), ♵ (U+2675), ♶ (U+2676), ♷ (U+2677), ♸ (U+2678), and ♹ (U+2679). ♺ (U+267A) is the portion of the symbol without the number or abbreviation.


See also

*
List of symbols Many (but not all) graphemes that are part of a writing system that encodes a full spoken language are included in the Unicode standard, which also includes graphical symbols. See: * Language code * List of Unicode characters * List of writi ...
*
Recycling codes Recycling codes are used to identify the materials out of which the item is made, to facilitate easier recycling process. The presence on an item of a recycling code, a chasing arrows logo, or a resin code, is not an automatic indicator that a m ...
*
Plastic recycling Plastic recycling is the reprocessing of plastic waste into new products. When performed correctly, this can reduce dependence on landfill, conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. A ...
*
Thermoplastic A thermoplastic, or thermosoft plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains associate ...
—softens with heat *
Thermosetting polymer In materials science, a thermosetting polymer, often called a thermoset, is a polymer that is obtained by irreversibly hardening (" curing") a soft solid or viscous liquid prepolymer (resin). Curing is induced by heat or suitable radiation and ...
—does not soften with heat


References


External links


Recycling Symbols for Plastics
has symbols used in plastics recycling available in various formats for use in graphics and packaging
Resin Codes
from the American Chemistry Council {{DEFAULTSORT:Resin Identification Code American inventions Consumer symbols Encodings Plastic recycling Polymers