Ozomahtli_small
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If a recyclable container requires lots of cleaning, at what point does it make sense to just throw it in the trash?

This has crossed my mind when I've been scrubbing a greasy plastic food container or rinsing an empty bottle of cooking oil with hot soapy water in order to get it clean enough for recycling. Or, what about an empty shampoo bottle that needs to be rinsed out several times to get the residue out?

Is there some sort of cost-benefit threshold for recycling vs. just throwing away a soiled container and not wasting the water?

Mahtli69 asked in Recycle/Re-Use about 1 year ago | Report
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  • Stavpicture_small
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    Brett Stav

    In other words, you're asking, "How far do I need to go out of my way in order to save the planet?"

    Just kidding. Seriously, having cleaning recyclables is important, otherwise it just ends up in the landfill anyway.

    Yes, sometimes cleaning those recyclables is a hassle.

    We asked our water conservation experts about the water vs. recycling question a few years back. The long and short of their answer was that cleaning recyclables was worth it.

    Personally, if I have something that's really cruddy, I scrape the food waste into the yard cart. If it's still caked-on, I let the dog take a shot at it. If my dog fails, and it's still gross, I'll try soaking it or putting it in the dishwasher with all my other dishes.

    By then it's usually not just clean, it's clean enough. Recycling experts have debates about this all the time, but I feel it doesn't need to be 100% spotless in order to be recycled.

    Mainly, it's about getting most of the food/grease residue off of the container so that container doesn't spoil the whole batch of containers that get shipped to the recycling plant.

    Brett Stav answered in Recycle/Re-Use about 1 year ago | Report
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  • Family_small
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    No need to use extra water to clean out gooey tubs, shampoo bottle, or peanut butter jar. Use the same dishpan of soapy water you use for other non-dishwasher items. Do the gooey stuff for the last round. Remember, there are people on the sort line who are picking out non-recyclables. Plus, the recycling process is better if there isn't food crud in the pulp or plastic mix. Be nice to your recyclers upline and get the goo out!

    Marcia Rutan answered in Recycle/Re-Use about 1 year ago | Report
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