High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The universal recycling symbol ( or in Unicode) is an internationally-recognized symbol used to designate recyclable materials. It is composed of three chasing arrows that form a Möbius strip or unending loop. In 1969 and early 1970, worldwide attention to environmental issues reached a crescendo, culminating in the first Earth Day. In response, then Chicago-based Container Corporation of America, a large producer of recycled paperboard which is now part of Smurfit-Stone Container, sponsored a contest for art and design students at high schools and colleges across the country to raise awareness of environmental issues. It was won by Gary Anderson, a 23-year-old college student at the University of Southern California, whose entry was the image now known as the universal recycling symbol.