RESY Symbols & Material Numbers

Polyethylene terephthalate

Beverage and mineral water bottles, films. Very good recyclability, well-established material loop.

Disposal: Recyclables bin (deposit bottles: reverse vending machine)

Polyethylene, high density (HDPE)

Canisters, bottles for cleaning products and cosmetics, rigid packaging. Good recyclability.

Disposal: Recyclables bin

Polyvinyl chloride

Rare and undesirable in packaging — disrupts plastics recycling. Tubing, blister packs.

Disposal: Residual waste or separate collection

Polyethylene, low density (LDPE)

Films, carrier bags, shrink wrap. Recycling depends on cleanliness and sorting.

Disposal: Recyclables bin

Polypropylene

Cups, lids, closures, food-grade containers. Good recyclability.

Disposal: Recyclables bin

Polystyrene

Yoghurt pots, expanded polystyrene (EPS). Rarely recycled as a material.

Disposal: Recyclables bin (low recovery rate)

Other plastics / mixed plastics

Catch-all category for plastics that cannot be clearly assigned or are multi-layered. Hard to separate.

Disposal: Recyclables bin / residual waste

Corrugated board

Shipping and transport boxes. Very high recycling rate.

Disposal: Paper bin / waste paper

Other board (carton)

Folding cartons, product packaging made from solid board.

Disposal: Paper bin / waste paper

Paper

Package inserts, labels, paper bags. Good recyclability provided it is not coated.

Disposal: Paper bin / waste paper

Steel / tinplate

Food cans, closures. Sorted magnetically, recyclable with almost no losses.

Disposal: Recyclables bin

Aluminium

Beverage cans, food trays, lids. Very energy-efficient recycling.

Disposal: Recyclables bin

Wood

Crates, pallets, crating. Can be recovered as material or energy.

Disposal: Recycling centre / bulky waste

Cork

Natural corks, insulating inserts. Recoverable via dedicated collection points.

Disposal: Cork collection / residual waste

Cotton

Fabric bags, padding material. Recoverable via textile collection.

Disposal: Textile collection / residual waste

Jute

Sacks, natural-fibre packaging. Biodegradable.

Disposal: Residual waste / composting

Clear glass

Bottles and jars for food and beverages. Endlessly recyclable without loss of quality.

Disposal: Glass bank — clear glass

Green glass

Wine and sparkling wine bottles. Green glass also absorbs off-colours.

Disposal: Glass bank — green glass

Brown glass

Beer and pharmaceutical bottles. Protects light-sensitive contents.

Disposal: Glass bank — brown glass

Beverage carton (paper + plastic + aluminium)

Tetra Pak and similar. Multi-layer composite — separating the layers is complex but established.

Disposal: Recyclables bin

Plastic + aluminium

Coffee vacuum packs, blister packs. The composite makes recycling harder.

Disposal: Recyclables bin

Plastic + tinplate

Certain tubes and lids. The composite makes recycling harder.

Disposal: Recyclables bin