There is a lot of misunderstanding around the meaning of that little triangle with a number in it. Some call it the “chasing arrows” symbol. Let’s set some things straight. Recycling is broken! To date, only 9% of the plastic ever produced has been recycled. In the U.S., only 8% of all plastic generated was recycled in 2017 (down from 9% in 2016) only 14% was collected for recycling, with a much smaller percentage (~2%) functionally recycled into new plastic packaging.