To tell you that if you don't wash your recycling...

[MrsColon]

...before you put it in the recycling bin, it won't get recycled?

If you don't rinse out cans, containers, bottles etc. they will be rejected and go into landfill.

Not enough emphasis is placed on this in recycling campaigns, and in my experience, the majority of people just don't realise this.

How can people not know this? I always wash mine. If you don't it attracts vermin. Pizza boxes I rip the greasy bits off and put the clean card in the bin. I'm on a water meter too but just wash with the dishes. I've a dishwasher but keep it aside to do with odd pots and pans.

@chocolateorangeinhaler

So they want you to waste water washing rubbish? That's a disgusting waste of a resource.

Well I suppose it won't smell so bad when it finally ends up in some poor Far East county to be burnt.

No "they" don't. Misinformed OP does. And other posters who think they're doing the right thing. Stop wasting the water and stop making recycling sound like such a chore.

@DelphiniumBlue

I didn't know this. How thoroughly does it need to be washed? A quick rinse or through the dishwasher? Bleached? I know not to put pizza boxes in but used tins? Thanks for flagging this up.

I put my tins through the dishwasher, and wash plastic bottles by hand.

Is the whole binful then contaminated or do they pick out the individual items? What if something non-recyclable accidentally gets into the bin, eg a tiny scrap of bubble wrap or something?

@PlanktonsComputerWife

I'm amazed by this thread. Typical MN virtue-signalling aplenty, but some people have admitted to ordering boxed pizza. reaches for smelling salts

I was going something similar. What a load of virtue-signalling pearl-clutching, finger-wagging parp some of these posts are.

Most people do their best for the environment, and for example, me and DH have energy saving 'everything' in our home, we don't have the heating on much unless it's VERY cold, we have one car between us, we walk or cycle when we can, we plant 100s of flowers to help the bees and butterflies, we have 30 trees in our garden, and we recycle as much as we can, whenever we can, and do wash out the muckiest stuff.

Anyone finger wagging, and trying to scold me, because I don't use 55 gallons of water a day, and spend 5 hours a week, meticulously washing out and scrubbing out every single bit of my recycling, can spin the the end of my finger.

I am fucking sick of these virtue-signalling twots who act like their fucking shit don't stink. 'oooh do some people not do this already? colour me shocked! I can't believe some people don't wash out every scrap of recyling they have!!!' faints! Just bore off already eh?

What a sanctimonious, wanky thread.

I don`t Wash any of mine because I no longer recycle. The local Council confiscated my recycle bin, after I received two warnings from having contaminated items in it. It turns out some local pratt kept putting their doggy poo bags in my bin when I left them out for collection after going to work.

I would not mind I don't have a fucking dog! Council said I had to pay £45 to get a new recycle bin, so they can bugger off. I'm not paying that every time some dick and harry puts dog crap in my bins.

I never wash my recycling. It was not necessary where I lived before and I'm now supplied by South West Water on a meter so there is no way I'm paying to wash it, I'd need a second income.

This is why so many don’t bother recycling then. Already got enough things to do tbh

It doesn’t take long to rinse a couple of cans out does it 🙄

I rinse it as soon as I use the contents. Then after dinner when I’ve finished washing up I put them in the water left in the bowl.
I’ve never had to scrub or anything as it comes out clean.
If for any reason it’s too dirty then you put it in the general waste bin.

Im shocked people don’t rinse their cans and bottles out. I’d be more concerned about attracting flies or rats if I didn’t.

I rinse my recycling and scrub off any lumpy bits. I've no idea if it's necessary, but some neighbours have found that the binnies wouldn't empty their recycling because the bin is full of maggots!

That made me glad I've always done it and that my bin has always been maggot free.

Maggots make me gag.

@TurnUpTurnip

This is why so many don’t bother recycling then. Already got enough things to do tbh

Yes, because swirling around a bit of water in the can after emptying it in the pan takes sooo long.

I rinse things as well as I rinse the milk bottles - a quick sloosh around with cold water. I cannot be bothered to be actually washing yogurt pots etc.

What about bits of tape on cardboard boxes? I always wonder about that.

I rinse it in grey water or squeeze any messy tins into a fullish dishwasher. Enough to stop it from smelling / rotting - surface clean. Assume components get power blasted efficiently together at a later stage so try to avoid using any extra power / water on it at home.

I was told by the local council to rinse it out so as not to attract wasps. I've never had anything left behind apart from black plastic as that can't be recycled in my area.

@Libertaire

Fine. My life is too short to wash empty bean cans, so if they don’t want stuff which isn’t pristinely clean, I will stop recycling and send my green bin back.

How short is your life that you don't have 5 seconds to rinse out an empty bean can?

I didn't know that but I've always washed it all so that the bin isn't smelly. Looking at the council website though they do ask for things to be washed.

I always wonder this when it and about in town and the bins are separated with a section for recycling.... How do you wash it before you put it in there?

@MarshaBradyo haha. I thought the same. See my previous link. Weirdly interesting 🤨

My water hill is high enough without having to add this on top of it.

Would it really cost them to blast it with water themselves through a conveyor?

@Grenlei

I'd be more persuaded about this if our council didn't ask us to separate our recycling, and then come bin day the bin men chuck everything in the same refuse lorry.

🤷

Ours used to do this.They gave up the pretence in the end and gave us all a single recycling bin.

“ Im shocked people don’t rinse their cans and bottles out. I’d be more concerned about attracting flies or rats if I didn’t.”

Do flies and rats only go for green bins and not grey ons then? My rubbish in the grey bin isn’t washed and disinfected

Some things are easy to wash, others not. Dog food tins need a good scrubbing with hot water and lots of soap. I always wonder (and doubt) it’s worth it tbh

It's not too difficult. Tins go in at the end of washing up and soak the labels off. Then paper labels go in paper recycling and clean cans get recycled. It doesn't take long and as others have said it stops food residue being left out. I don't like the idea of attracting creatures to our recycling containers. The worst to wash is peanut butter but we still do it.

Just FYI, I recycle so much that my mediocre sized bin gets full within about 3 days. Not having the rest of it cluttering up my small house so off to landfill it goes.

Maybe if they collected it more I'd recycle more.

Tins are often plastic lined, the linings are melted off, I can't see it making any difference whether they are clean or not. I put soup cans etc in the dishwasher if there's room, but I wouldn't waste hot water cleaning them. Bottles I'll give a quick cold rinse, don't drink milk so none of them are smelly.
Tops on or off is the thing that bugs me. Lots of bottles say recycle top on and the plastic of the top is the same as the bottle. But then the recycling centre says no tops 🤷 We used to live somewhere years ago, that recycled according to the numbers on the plastics, which was brilliant. Where we are now it's only bottles which is limiting.

"the two bins we have." !!!

We have 5; I thought everyone had 5.