We all want to do the right thing when it comes to recycling, but it’s not necessarily that easy. The Australian Council of Recycling (ACR) has described recycling labels on products as a “dog’s breakfast”, with a national audit finding consumers are confused by different logos and incorrect or non-existent labelling.

The ACR has called time on our haphazard system and says every product sold into the Australian market must have a mandatory uniform label so consumers are absolutely clear as to whether the packaging can be recycled.

An audit – by sustainability consultancy Equilibrium – found 88 per cent of packaging on 150 sampled products was recyclable, but only 40 per cent had a label indicating it could be recycled, The Age reports.

“The audit shows a dog's breakfast of consumer information about what products and packaging components are or aren’t recyclable,” said ACR chief executive Pete Shmigel.

This undoubtedly led to some materials going to the wrong place, he said, which meant recycling rates weren’t as high as they could be.

“Lack of any disposal labelling … may also lead to consumers wrongfully placing non-recyclable items into their kerbside recycling bin, potentially resulting in contamination,” the audit said.

Of the 150 products sampled, 23 per cent had the Australasian Recycling Label (endorsed by all Australian governments), 29 per cent had the mobius loop – three arrows in a triangle – and 9 per cent made other recycling claims.

For anyone believing the mobius loop is a universal symbol for recycling, think again. The audit said it did not mean the product would be accepted for recycling as not all facilities could accept all potentially recyclable materials.

The audit found that 29 per cent of plastic products had a resin code symbol, which identified the type of plastic resin used but was often mistaken for a recycling label.

Fifteen per cent of products had the Tidyman logo, a symbol of someone throwing rubbish in a bin which appears on both recyclable and non-recyclable products.

“Furthermore it was identified that some labelling is incorrect or non-existent … and the terminology used to explain the recyclability is not consumer friendly (e.g. 'this packaging is recyclable' when only one component is actually recyclable),” the audit said.

The ACR recommends mobius loops and plastic resin codes be removed from packaging to avoid confusion.

Environment Minister Sussan Ley said labelling was an important issue and she had met with the council to discuss its report.