Mobius loop with a percentage
The same loop with a number and a % sign inside or beside it claims that that share of the item is recycled material: a loop with 60% means 60% of the pack came from recycled material. Worcestershire County Council's guide: the '%' in the loop 'indicates what proportion is made from recycled materials'.
- Material
- Recycled-content claim
- Code
- none: a claim, not a material code
- Family
- Claims
- Defined by
- The maker’s own claim (ISO 14021 sets the rules)
Which bin, usually
Usually the percentage does not tell you which bin: it says what the pack was made from, not where it goes. Use the material code or letters beside it.
Whether this goes in your recycling depends on your local collection; check your council or municipality's sorting guide.
The material
Not stated: the percentage is the share of recycled material, not the material itself.
Where you see it
Card boxes and sleeves, paper bags, and plastic bottles made partly from recycled plastic.
What it does not mean
A recycled-content loop is not a claim that the pack is recyclable. Under the US Green Guides a partly recycled item should state 'the amount or percentage, by weight, of recycled content' (16 CFR 260.13(c)), and recycled content may be pre-consumer (factory waste) or post-consumer (used packs) unless the claim says which.
The loop is a self-declared claim by whoever printed it, not a certificate and not a collection promise. Under the US Green Guides a plain 'recyclable' claim is only fair where recycling facilities reach a 'substantial majority' of the people or communities it is sold to, which the rule sets at 'at least 60 percent' (16 CFR 260.12(b)(1)).
Other ways it is printed
- a percentage inside the loop
- a percentage beside the loop
- the same claim in words, such as 'made with 60% recycled material'
Other claims marks
Sources
- Worcestershire County Council: Recycling symbols explained (Mobius Loop with a % sign: proportion of recycled material) — checked 2026-09-23
- 16 CFR 260.13 Recycled content claims (US FTC Green Guides), eCFR ((b), (c): recycled content claims and percentages) — checked 2026-09-23
- 16 CFR 260.12 Recyclable claims (US FTC Green Guides), eCFR ((b)(1): substantial majority means at least 60 percent) — checked 2026-09-23
Written in our own words from these public texts and checked on the date shown. ASTM D7611 and ISO 14021 are sold by their publishers; only their public catalogue text is used here.