James DeVellis MD

While about 94 percent of the U.S. population has access to some type of recycling program, the acceptance of what materials are included varies. This is why various symbols dictate reuse and disposal of waste, the functions of which also depend on whether the guides are for consumers or manufacturers. Image source: recycling.com These symbols can be confusing because there are various materials that are involved in just one product. Recycled content can refer to the product or the packaging. For example, having a recycled water bottle doesn’t mean that the cap is, too. Here then are information on some of these symbols, which should come in handy as one goes about their daily shopping.  Firstly, the recyclable and recycled symbols may look the same, but the black and white colors get reversed in the latter. The universal insignia for everything recyclable is the Mobius Loop, coined by Gary Anderson in honor of the first Earth Day in 1970. Today, the Federal Trad