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Translingual[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Symbol origin[edit]
Designed by American graphic designer and architect Gary Anderson in 1970 for a competition held by the Container Corporation of America. It was chosen as the universal symbol for recycling out of 500 other entries on 22 April that year by a panel of graphic designers.[1][2]
Description[edit]
Three arrows in a triangular configuration turning clockwise in convergence towards each other through a tilting motion—originally making the arrows form a Möbius strip, though some variants of the symbol do not observe this arrangement—to represent a continuous loop.[3]
Symbol[edit]
♻
- The recycling symbol: the universal symbol for recycling, filled in.
- 2022 June 22, United Nations, Twitter[5]:
- Reduce your food waste 🍝
Recycle ♻
Plant a tree 🌳
Your everyday choices can help tackle the climate crisis!
| Text style |
Emoji style |
|---|---|
| ♻︎ | ♻️ |
| Note: Character's appearance may be different on each system. Text style is forced with ︎ and emoji style with ️ | |
Usage notes[edit]
- May be used to indicate that an item is recyclable, is made from recycled material, to indicate where recycling commences—such as appearing on a trashcan—or on its own to represent recycling.
- The design of this symbol varies; the most common difference is depicting all three arrowheads (the half-twists) as inverted so that every arrow starts as upright.
- The symbol (named "Recycling" and designated PF 066) is part of the ISO 7001 set of pictograms and symbols for "public information" by the International Organization for Standardization.[4]
- As an emoji, the display of this symbol differs slightly by operating system, but almost all display it as being green in colour.[5]
Related terms[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Penny Jones, Jerry Powell (1999 May) “Gary Anderson has been found!”, in Resource Recycling[1]
- ^ BBC World Service (2023 April 11) “The universal recycling symbol”, in Witness History[2], BBC: “[audio description] In 1970, American architecture student Gary Anderson won a competition, to mark the first Earth Day on 22 April, to design a logo for recycled paper products.”
- ^ Michael Everson and Asmus Freytag (2001 April 2) Background information on Recycling Symbols[3], International Organization for Standardization, International Electrotechnical Commission, page 6
- ^ International Organization for Standardization (2023 February) “Public information symbols”, in ISO 7001:2023: Graphical symbols — Registered public information symbols, 4 edition
- ^ “♻️ Recycling Symbol”, in Emojipedia[4], n.d., Emoji Designs