Some manufacturers, advertisers and marketers know people are shopping with the environment in mind, and some use labeling to create the appearance that their products are compatible with those values. Just because a product or package carries a recycling symbol does not mean it is recyclable or that it is recycled in your community. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has cracked down on some misleading environmentally-sensitive advertising claims and wants consumers to note:
• The FTC allows products or packages to be marketed as “recyclable” if it can be separated and collected from household and commercial trash for reuse or recycling through an established recycling program. It does not necessarily mean the item is recycled in your community’s recycling program. If you’re not sure, call your recycling service provider to find out.
• Some businesses recycle products that aren’t part of the community recycling program as a customer service. For example, some grocery stores take back their plastic grocery bags. Some toner cartridge makers allow consumers to return their empty cartridges for remanufacturing.
• Many “disposable” cameras are recycled after the film is processed.
• “Recycled” may refer only to scrap material gathered during manufacturing — such as scraps of paper left over from cutting envelopes. Products and packages made from material gathered in community recycling programs should be identified as “post-consumer” material and should indicate what percentage of the material is post-consumer.
• If a label says “recycled,” it must tell the percentage of recycled content — unless it’s 100 percent.
• The international recycling symbol means that the product is both recyclable and made of recycled materials. If only one of these claims is true, the manufacturer should say which one.