to think that by the time I've washed out my washing liquid bottle I have wasted so much energy I might as well have binned it?

[MakemineaGandT]

Empty washing liquid bottles take a hell of a lot of washing and rinsing to make them clean enough to put in the recycling. I wondered today how much energy was "wasted" in doing this compared with how much will be "saved" by its recycling. Surely sometimes it just makes "green" sense to just bin things?

not if you use cold water it doesn't

I've often wondered the same thing.

i usually water mind down when it's near the end anyway then you get loads more washes out of it

I rinse it out in the last lot of left over washing up water. Simples.

Rinse once, shake, empty.

Yup, water it down and then use washing up water to rinse.

Surely there's some sort of washing involved in the recycling process anyway? Is it that important that a bottle is squeaky clean when it goes in the recycling bin?

Doesn't recycle.

Fabby-I'm with you.

I feel the same about cat food tins.

If you stand them upside down for the last bit, most of it has come off the sides of the bottle anyway. Then for the final use, you just slosh the bottle in a basin full of water and use that for the dishes. No waste, little ffort.

It's bottles of oil I hate!

Jeeez this recyling lark sounds a right pain in the arse. Everything in this house goes in one bin bag the dustman take it every Wednesday. Job done.

i must be right sad as i quite enjoy the rinsing aspect, agree the oil is a pita though

I don't rinse oil for that very reason, I don't even rinse wine bottles.

frankly most of my recycling is filthy- i don't beleive the plastic gets recycled anyway.

I heard that washing things out takes more green energy than actually the goods being recycled. Also, since I'm a lazy arse, I never have washed out any of mine and they have never been refused.

You fill with hot water, shake, pour into washing up bowl to use. Whats hard about that?

I'm no drum-banging hippy, but not recycling anything is pretty selfish prick behaviour.

BuzzLightBeer - I'm not talking about washing up liquid, I'm talking about clothes washing machine liquid.....it seems to stick like glue to the bottle

same deal, hot water, shake.

I do the same as Buzz. I also rinse round the cap as I'm running the bowl of water and use that to wash up with. Partially for the recycling but mostly because if I can get one more bowl of washing up out of a bottle of liquid I will. All other things are washed last after doing the washing up.

I don't wash any of my recycling, it all gets washed at the recycling plant anyway.

For me its the Tetra Pak milk cartons that take a load of rinsing, I think due to the square shape you cant get it all out.

With washing liquid bottles I add a capful of water and shake and then use that in the washing machine. It works just as well watered down as it does neat.

katkit you're bang on, it doesn't get recycled hence my protest.

On this, I agree with BuzzLightBeer. . Are there really people who don't recycle anything?