RIC (Resin Identification Code)

RIC (Resin Identification Code) is a voluntary identification system originally developed by the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI, now Plastics Industry Association) in the USA in 1988 and subsequently adopted globally — including India, where the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifies it under IS 14534 for labelling of plastic articles. The code uses a number (1–7) enclosed in a triangle of chasing arrows, printed or embossed on the base of plastic containers. The seven codes are: 1 = PET, 2 = HDPE, 3 = PVC, 4 = LDPE, 5 = PP, 6 = PS, 7 = Other (all other plastics including PC, ABS, PLA, Nylon, multi-layer). The chasing-arrows symbol does NOT mean the item is recycled or recyclable — a common public misconception that inflates recycling rate estimates.

In India, the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 and subsequent amendments mandate that rigid plastic containers above 50 ml must carry the RIC. However, compliance is imperfect: many small manufacturers omit the code, some use it incorrectly (labelling PP containers as PE), and Code 7 'Other' is a catch-all that provides no recycler utility — it covers everything from polycarbonate water coolers to PLA cups to ABS automotive parts. NIR spectroscopy-based sorting machines (increasingly deployed at modern MRFs and recycling facilities) read polymer chemistry directly and do not rely on the embossed RIC, which is why industrial recyclers do not depend on RIC for accurate sorting.

For manual sorting (still the norm at most Indian recycling facilities and kabadiwalas), RIC training provides a workable, if imperfect, sorting guide. Sorters can read code 1 (PET bottles), code 2 (HDPE containers), code 5 (PP containers), and code 3 (PVC, to be separated as contaminant) reliably on rigid containers. Films and flexible packaging carry RIC codes inconsistently and are difficult to read at sorting speed. The greatest commercial value of RIC training is not sorting accuracy per se but PVC contamination avoidance: sorters trained to pull code 3 items (PVC) from mixed plastic streams protect the entire batch value.

For recycling entrepreneurs in India, three practical actions follow from RIC discipline: (1) train all manual sorters to identify and extract code 3 (PVC) from incoming streams — PVC contamination destroys batch value; (2) use RIC as a secondary quality check against NIR or float-sink results, not as a primary sorting tool; (3) when purchasing mixed plastic scrap, request supplier-level sorting by RIC — it reduces labour cost at your facility and sets quality expectations in your supply contracts.