You can find the chasing arrow symbol on many of your favorite products, issuing a call to action that you should recycle. But the symbol itself involves much more than just dropping off your products in a bin.

In fact, the process of collecting and sorting these items is just one of the three arrows. Once products are recycled, there’s still work to be done for the loop to be completed. Here’s a quick overview on the steps involved in recycling:

Collection

Collection comes in many forms, from curbside recycling to drop-off facilities to municipal events. No matter what the product, the first step in recycling is to collect and sort.

In the case of plastic, you will find a number inside the recycling symbol. This is used during collection, because the number designates the type of plastic. Plastic bottles can’t be recycled with Styrofoam as the molecules don’t mix. The number lets you know if different plastics are molecule-compatible.

Collection also includes the sorting of these materials at a recycling center. Once they are sorted, recyclables can be sold off and reprocessed.

Reprocessing

It takes just 60 days for a recycled aluminum can to end up back on the grocery shelf. For glass bottles, it’s as little as 30 days. But a lot happens in this short time:

• For metals like aluminum and steel, reprocessing involves melting down the products into one solid sheet of metal
• Paper recycling involves beating the fibers into slush and creating new paper from this slush
• Electronics products are broken down so valuable metals and hazardous materials can be removed

Reprocessing can involve creating the same product (a new aluminum can from an old aluminum can) or a completely different product (a park bench from recycled plastic milk jugs). It is the one part of the recycling process that doesn’t involve the consumer.

Buying Recycled

You may also hear this referred to as “closing the loop.” Without this step, the recycling symbol is incomplete.

Finding products made with recycled content is easier than you think. Companies are usually proud to show off that products and packaging are recycled.

Recycled content does not always mean 100 percent recycled. Sometimes, recycled material is mixed with raw material. This is usually marked, saying something like, “This product is made from 80% recycled paper.”

The recycling symbol is a loop because recycling is an infinite process. We just need to make sure there is participation on all three arrows.