Walk into the grocery store and check the back of a container of food. Chances are, you’ll see a small box with instructions on how to dispose of the packaging when you’re finished with it: “empty & replace lid,” for example, or “recycle if clean and dry.”
These labels are made by How2Recycle, a program operated by the nonprofit GreenBlue, which sells them to more than 700 big food and consumer goods companies to put on their products. The idea behind creating them was to mitigate confusion among consumers about what to do with all the boxes, jars, jugs, and bottles that their purchases are packed in.
In recent years, however, companies have come under scrutiny for being too liberal with their use of the iconic “chasing arrows” recycling symbol: It makes plastic bags and other products seem more recyclable than they really are. Regulators have taken notice. At the national level, the Federal Trade Commission is preparing an update to its “Green Guides” for the use of sustainability labels, including the recycling symbol. And in California, state law is e... Read more
