UNIVERSAL RECYCLING SYMBOL OR MOBIUS LOOP LABEL

The Universal Recycling Symbol or Mobius Loop is another green label on products indicating that the products can be recycled. In my last post I discussed the crossed-out wheeled bin label (technically the symbol is called the WEEE symbol). The crossed-out wheeled bin label shows that the products (electrical and electronic) it labels can be recycled. It deals specifically with electrical and electronic products as recyclable materials. The Mobius loop label indicates that a product is recyclable or made of recyclable materials. There are variations of the universal recycling symbol.

RECYCLABLE PRODUCTS

Indications on the Mobius Loop label showing recyclable products:

NO	INDICATOR	CHEMICAL MATERIAL USED	SOME PRODUCT EXAMPLES
01	PET	Polyethylene Terephthalate	Soft drink containers Peanut butter jars
02	HDPE	High Density Polyethylene	Milk jug Juice jug Yoghurt containers Shampoo bottles
03	PVC	Polyvinyl Chloride	Water bottles
04	LDPE	Low Density Polyethylene	Bread bags Grocery bags
05	PP	Polypropylene	Ketchup bottles Syrup bottles
06	PS	Polystyrene	Foam cups
07	Other	Other	Motor vehicle tail light Safety glass

EVERYDAY LIFE ENCOUNTER

The products I have named here are products you use in your everyday life. After we have finished using the contents of these products they end up in the environment. They end up in rivers and seas. They end up in gutters. They end up in bus terminals and markets. They end up on trees. A fisherman in Teshie, a town in the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipality in the Greater Accra region in Ghana, this year complained to a journalist that when they (fishermen) go on fishing expeditions they hardly catch fish. The reason the fisherman gave was that when they cast their net all they get is plastic waste.

I regularly scoop plastic waste from the open gutter in front of the house I live in. Some of the plastic materials I scoop from the gutter are water sachet, water bottles, candy wrappers and others.  Many school children and adults alike, when they finish using the plastic materials they throw or drop them wherever they find themselves. Some people even think the gutter is the appropriate place to drop such plastic materials. It is so bad that sometimes when you speak up against such attitude and behavior, you are subjected to ridicule. What such people do not know is that the plastic materials they drop into the gutter is the plastic materials that end up in the fisherman’s net. They do not think of it that way. It is high time such people started thinking of it that way.

ENCOURAGING EFFORTS

However, there are efforts being made towards recycling. In Accra, Ghana, women go round to gather water sachet that has been thrown about. When they get sufficient water sachet they send them to factories (for a fee) who recycle them. This is my personal contribution in respect of recycling of water sachet: I gather the water sachet I use in my house and give them to the women who gather them for the factories on regular basis. Sometimes I gather water bottles that come my way and give those to the women who are interested in water bottles.

Waste bins for recyclable plastic materials are placed at certain points in Ghana, West Africa where one can deposit recyclable plastic products. This is an effort of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Ghana. It is from one such bin placed in front of the Osu (Accra) Shopping Mall (Shoprite) on Oxford Street that I got a shot of the image in figure 1.

Producers of water in Ghana use recyclable water sachet. Recyclable water sachet is used in making ladies handbags in Ghana. It must be noted that not all the water bottles collected from homes end up at the appropriate facilities for recycling. Some of them when collected are reused for the sale of palm oil, for example.

 PARTING SHOT

Plastic products are recyclable. The Mobius symbol label on products indicate that such products are recyclable. There are variations of the Mobius symbol. There are indicators (e.g. acronym of chemical compound) on the Mobius symbol labels telling you of the particular chemical compound used in making that product. The Mobius symbol label tells you that the product is either made up of recyclable materials or the product can be recycled. The Mobius symbol label does not only tell you that the product is recyclable or recycled, more importantly it directs you to the facility where you can go and deposit the product for recycling. If you cannot go to the designated points of collection, people come round to collect them, please avail yourself of this opportunity.

Keeping a clean and balanced natural environment in a sustainable way starts from you as an individual, a change in attitude and behavior, to be reflected in a responsible disposal of waste. Make it a point to look out for green labels on products you buy. In my last post it was the crossed-out wheeled bin. In this post it is the Mobius loop. In my next post I will come up with another green label. 

Reference:

http://www.rcbc.bc.ca/files/u3/add_Mobius_Loop.pdf