About Recycling Symbols

They will help you to;

Enhance the quality of materials you collect

Improve the look of your site, your business, your community

Increase recycling education and participation

The New Zealand Recycling Symbols are designed to encourage the standardisation of recycling signage throughout New Zealand, enhance public participation in recycling and facilitate the correct separation of materials.

An extensive range of symbols are now available covering a number of classifications of material: glass, paper, metal, plastic, construction, organic, inorganic, and other. Each classification is differentiated by colour making it easier to identify the different material types.

Applications

• Signage on public recycling bins
• Signage for resource recovery stations
• Workplace signage (i.e. office recycling systems)
• Signage on household recycling bins
• Signage on trucks
• General signage
• Education/Promotional material (i.e. brochures, education kits)

Features

• Simple, identifiable images
• Incorporates the universally recognised mobius loop (chasing arrows)
• Symbols are single colour
• Suitable for a wide range of applications
• Positive public response in trials
• Ability to add more symbols as required

The range of symbols available can be viewed in the Symbols Order and Download page.

Questions and Answers

Q. Where can I get the symbols?

A. The New Zealand Recycling Symbols are available in the following formats:

• Website - PDF format can be downloaded free from the Symbols Order & Download page
• CD-Rom - $45.00 (includes GST) + $7.50 (for postage & handling)
• Pre printed self-adhesive labels (suitable for both outdoor and indoor use)

Q. What electronic formats are the symbols available in?

A. The symbols are available in a pdf format. The program needed by users to view pdf's, Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded at no cost from www.adobe.com. This program allows users to copy from the pdf and paste into other programs such as Word. Once pasted into Word, users can easily scale the size of the image.

These pdf images are also suitable for professional use but in order to assist high-resolution users in particular, graphic designers, Macintosh eps format files are also available on a CD to order click here

Q. In what styles are the symbols available?

A. They are available in both colour on white background and as a reversed image of white on a coloured background. View these styles in the Style Guide.

Q. What if I can't find the symbol that I need?

A. Symbols have been developed to cover the majority of situations but these do not cover all possible materials or combinations of materials. New symbols can be developed, please refer to Guidelines for Developing New Symbols or contact us for further information.

Q. They sound so good! Is there anything that they are not meant to do?

A. Yes, as incredible as it may seem! The symbols are not meant to tell people absolutely everything about what can and cannot be put in a certain container. Recyclers may want to put supplementary information on their bins to give more detail to the public. Suggested font styles, sizes and colours are provided in the Style Guide.

The New Zealand Recycling Symbols were developed by Waste Not Ltd. in partnership with RONZ and supported by the Ministry for the Environment and Zero Waste New Zealand Trust.