Clean recyclables before disposal?

[razz]

Sort of a vent and sort of a question. Today is garbage day when both garbage and recyclables are picked up by contractors hired by the municipality. There is direction in municipal info that recyclables should be rinsed. That is my routine.

A new neighbour, delightful couple, put out their recyclables but don't push the styrofoam etc., to make sure that the breeze
doesn't send it all flying. It was problem with another neighbour as well and I mentioned to them that the really strong winds had sent their box flying on the street spilling the contents across yards. They have been a little more careful. In both cases, when I go out, I simply pick up and reposition as much as possible to prevent further loss. Another neighbour does this clean-up as well.

However, in today's episode, with the new neighbour, I was gathering up the 3 styrofoam containers used for "doggy bags" at restaurants that had blown out and found different food debris on them spilling on the street. Also the glass containers were uncleaned etc. Ick!

We already have a problem with crows and coons raiding the garbage left out the night before.

Do you clean your recyclables before disposal? What would you do?

[JaneV2.0]

Oh yes I do. I've said before that I spend my life curating garbage...

[catherine]

You hit a hot button for me, razz. But my beef isn't with my neighbor, it's with DH. He has NO sense of recycling protocol. He throws all kinds of plastic non-recyclables like newspaper pouches or supermarket bags. He never rinses out food from cans. He tries to get away with throwing anything he wants in there, and then when I go to clean out the recycling can that he put out, a) I look like a ridiculous old lady cleaning up the garbage and b) we fight. And I'm feeling angry that I'm standing there in the street sorting garbage. Why can't people just follow simple rules? I've printed out the Township's recycling rules, and he doesn't read them.

[Float On]

Yes, we wash our recyclables. We don't have curb-side so we sort and organize into various bins then deliver every 2-4 weeks to the cleanest recycle center in the world. They have so many rules and they are always changing. I won't get out of the car because I don't want to get yelled at about some rule that changed in the last 5 minutes so I usually just send DH instead.

[Tybee]

Yes, we clean recylcables first, to avoid flies and the like.

[Alan]

Yes, we rinse all recyclables, it seems like the right thing to do.

[Chicken lady]

My recycling tends to sit in my garage for a long time - so yes, although I will confess to tossing the freshly drained beverage bottle or can in now and then.

i wish we could recycle styrofoam.

[iris lilies]

I am in the middle. While I nearly always rinse items out and sometimes even put them in the the dishwasher, I am not thorough in cleaning.

Our big stash of recycleables is kept on our patio and I empty that about twice a month. The small, cardbord and paper items I keep in a kitchen container because they cant get wet in rain.

the giant, enormous pile of newspapers, magazines, and flat paper is DH's responsibility and he thrown them in a container kept i. Our downstairs shower. Hehe, it is unused space.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Yes, I rinse the recycleables. Aside from it being a good thing to do, it sits in my house for a few weeks because I don't have curbside pickup either. So, nicer for me because it doesn't smell in the house and nicer when it gets to the recycling center.

[Rogar]

A while back NPR had some recycling expert on and the question came up whether washing out recyclables used more water than the recycling value. He said not and recommended rinsing out recyclables everywhere but Calif., which was in a drought at the time.

I rinse most things and put especially greasy items in the dishwasher. I only get to the recycling center every two or three weeks and want to avoid any smell or attract rodents.

[Teacher Terry]

Yes I rinse things out.

[CathyA]

Absolutely I rinse things out.
Unfortunately, since our local town recycling collection center doesn't monitor it very well, people can throw just about anything in there. But I must say, I think most people do clean it up first.

Can you imagine working on the recycling line and having to go through all this stuff? :0! A big thanks to them and I hope they get paid well!

[JaneV2.0]

...

Can you imagine working on the recycling line and having to go through all this stuff? :0! A big thanks to them and I hope they get paid well!

Not a job I would want. More than one body/body part has shown up on recycling lines. :0!

[CathyA]

Not a job I would want. More than one body/body part has shown up on recycling lines. :0!

I know.........I saw that same Law and Order episode. ;)

[JaneV2.0]

I know.........I saw that same Law and Order episode. ;)

;)

A quick Google shows bodies found up here in Woodinville, in Memphis, New York, Akron...And that's just the first page.
Cheaper than a burial, I guess.

[SteveinMN]

I do. I'm also apparently the only person for blocks around who has read the brochure sent by the recycling folks (what can and can't be collected curbside).

Our kids don't rinse often at all. I'm guessing (hoping?) that may change now that their recycling can has a year's worth of old yogurt and baby food residue in it and will smell kinda ripe when they toss new stuff in there. Then again, maybe they think it's just a diversion from what goes in the garbage and that garbage always smells. I suppose it's good they recycle at all; so many people just can't be bothered.

The biggest challenge for me and many others is binary thinking: recycling doesn't take all plastics, so the rule "it's plastic; it can be recycled" is inaccurate. Ditto the thermal paper provided for receipts in most places; it's not recyclable even though it's "paper". And, a little oddly, our local recycling doesn’t take black plastic at all (perhaps because most of it is already high in recycled content and there's nothing left to separate). *shrug* It's not a big thing to go through it all (when it's clean).

[Lainey]

Here in Phoenix we are asked to wash out recyclables before putting them in the can for curb-side pickup. I also found out recently that if you have a plastic bottle you're supposed to keep the top on it when you recycle it. Many years ago we were told to separate them because they are different types of plastic.
I agree that it's hard to keep up with the rules changing.

[Yppej]

I do, but sometimes I am lazy and just toss something (think peanut butter jar) in the regular trash because I don't want to clean it. I choose not to have a dishwasher.