Changes are coming — at last — to the Resin Identification Code. While the changes may seem superficial, the reality is that if they're successful, this has the potential to change the public ...

Additional changes could be coming for the Resin Identification Code, those little numbers and letters on the bottom of plastic bottles and containers that touch millions of lives every day.

Two plastics recycling associations -- the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR) and the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) -- are expressing concern about the ...

Ever wonder what those small numbers on the bottom of your plastic bottles and takeout containers mean? They're called Resin Identification Codes. Follow BI Video: On Twitter More from Science ...

What went wrong But not every plastic with the symbol on it can be easily recycled. Inside the chasing arrows symbol sits a small number, called a resin identification code, or RIC.

According to the agency, the use of the resin identification code (RIC) with the recycling symbol—the familiar three chasing arrows—constitutes a misrepresentation of claims.

This is called the resin identification code. Republic Services accepts plastics with a code of 1 or 2, typically items like milk jugs, soda bottles and other plastics with a threaded neck.

The EPA is joining with environmental groups to ditch the circular arrow symbol so consumers are more aware of what plastics can truly be recycled.

At issue is the chasing arrows symbol combined with “resin identification code,” a number from 1 through 7 that appears in the middle of the symbol.

The recyclability of plastic is determined by its composition; there are seven different types of plastic that are identified using a resin identification code (RIC).

The reason numbers inside the recycling symbols, known as the Resin Identification Code, are not highlighted in recycling guidelines is because these codes don’t solely determine whether a ...