Recycling garbage is one of the biggest problems in the world. In many countries, it is mandatory to sort the garbage and dump in proper trash bins. You can see the recycle symbols on the trash or dustbins available for garbage disposal. In addition, you can also see these symbols in plastic tubes like cosmetic items. Different recycling symbols are used to indicate the disposal method applicable for different material. You can type recycling symbols to print and paste on the trash bins. In this article, we will explain how to insert many types of recycling symbols in Windows and Mac based documents using alt codes keyboard shortcuts.
Alt Code Shortcuts for Recycling Symbols
Recycling symbols are part of Unicode point range U+2600. You can use the decimal or hexadecimal code with alt code to type these symbols in Windows, Mac and Word documents.
| Recycle Symbol | Symbol Description | Alt Code Windows | Alt + X for Word | Option Code Mac |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ♲ | Universal Recycling Symbol | Alt + 9842 | 2672 + Alt + X | Option + 2672 |
| ♳ | Recycling Symbol for Type-1 Plastics | Alt + 9843 | 2673 + Alt + X | Option + 2673 |
| ♴ | Recycling Symbol for Type-2 Plastics | Alt + 9844 | 2674 + Alt + X | Option + 2674 |
| ♵ | Recycling Symbol for Type-3 Plastics | Alt + 9845 | 2675 + Alt + X | Option + 2675 |
| ♶ | Recycling Symbol for Type-4 Plastics | Alt + 9846 | 2676 + Alt + X | Option + 2676 |
| ♷ | Recycling Symbol for Type-5 Plastics | Alt + 9847 | 2677 + Alt + X | Option + 2677 |
| ♸ | Recycling Symbol for Type-6 Plastics | Alt + 9848 | 2678 + Alt + X | Option + 2678 |
| ♹ | Recycling Symbol for Type-7 Plastics | Alt + 9849 | 2679 + Alt + X | Option + 2679 |
| ♺ | Recycling Symbol for Generic Material | Alt + 9850 | 267A + Alt + X | Option + 267A |
| ♻ | Black Universal Recycling Symbol | Alt + 9851 | 267B + Alt + X | Option + 267B |
| ♼ | Recycled Paper Symbol | Alt + 9852 | 267C + Alt + X | Option + 267C |
| ♽ | Partially Recycled Paper Symbol | Alt + 9853 | 267D + Alt + X | Option + 267D |
How to Use Recycling Symbols?
In general, you can use the universal recycle symbols ♲ and ♻ with different colors and text to indicate the purpose. For example, a green symbol on a trash bin indicates a recyclable disposals and a red symbol indicates non-recyclable disposals. However, the numbers inside recycling symbol indicates a specific type of plastic material.
| Symbol | Recycling Material |
|---|---|
| ♳ | Polyethylene Terephthalate |
| ♴ | High Density Polyethylene |
| ♵ | Vinyl, Polyvinyl Chloride |
| ♶ | Low Density Polyethylene |
| ♷ | Polypropylene |
| ♸ | Polystyrene |
| ♹ | Other Plastics |
Follow one of the below method to insert recycle symbols on Windows, Word, macOS and HTML documents.
Type Recycling Symbols in Windows
- You can use the recycling symbols on Windows based documents by holding the alt key and typing the decimal numbers using numeric pad on your keyboard.
- If you are trying to insert on Microsoft Word documents on Windows, try the Unicode hexadecimal value along with alt and x keys. The advantage here is that you can use normal keyboard keys for this purpose.
- Black universal recycling symbol is also part of Unicode emoji. You can insert this symbol using emoji panel in Windows 10 computers. Press “Win Logo + Dot” keys to open the emoji panel pop-up. You can search and insert recycling emoji symbol.
Type Recycling Symbols in Mac
- On Mac, change the keyboard layout to Unicode Hex Input method. Hole option key and type the hexadecimal code to make the recycling symbols.
- Alternatively, press “Control + Command + Spacebar” to open Character Viewer app. Type “recy” to filter all recycling related symbols. As you can see in the below screenshot, there is also a green recycling symbol emoji available on Mac in addition to the Unicode symbols. You can also choose the font variations to insert different variations of each symbol.
Inserting Recycling Symbols in HTML Documents
You have different options to use the symbols on web documents.
- Use decimal alt code like with the &# prefix and hexadecimal code with the &#x prefix to insert these symbols. Below is the code example and check out the complete list of HTML escape names and strings.
<span>♲<span>
<span>♲<span>- In CSS and JavaScript documents, use the hexadecimal values like \2672 and \u2672.
Though you can use Unicode symbols on HTML and other web documents, it is better to use SVG font icons. One popular option is to use Font Awesome icons and you can get different symbols in a scalable format. In addition to recycling icons, font icons also offer additional options like trash bins which are not available in Unicode.
Font and Size Variation
Like any other text content on your document, you can adjust the size and color of these recycling symbols.
♲
♵
♼
As mentioned, you can use scalable font icons on HTML documents to show variations. Otherwise, you need to use font-size and color attributes in CSS and style the element on your document.
Insert Trash Bin or Recycle Bin Symbol in Word Documents
In computer world, there is a recycle bin that contains all the deleted items on your computer. Generally, you can see this Trash icon on the desktop as part of the Windows operating system. You can insert the Trash bin symbol on Word document following the below instructions:
- Open Word and position the cursor where you want to insert the Trash bin symbol.
- Navigate to “Insert > Symbols > More Symbols” and open “Symbols” utility.
- Under “Symbols” tab, change the “Font” to “Wingdings 2”.
- Select the Trash icon and click “Insert” button.
Shortcuts Reference
Here is the image with all keyboard shortcuts for recycling symbols. Download the image to your computer to keep it for offline reference.
