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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think putting raw meat packaging in dishwasher is crazy?!!

107 replies

DrSeuss84 · 28/12/2023 16:26

We went to stay with family this Christmas. Whilst emptying the dishwasher I noticed an empty bacon packet and mentioned it thinking it had just fallen in by accident. Turns out no…. They put all plastic packets including from raw meat through dishwasher before recycling it. Is that thing?! Is it just me that thinks it is a huge Health hazard? On one occasion I opened it and there were three empty packets up with all the cups. Im really interested to know what other people think.

OP posts:
EmpatheticAgain · 28/12/2023 17:13

Why bother to recycle if you’re going to waste so much water before recycling. It’s a joke, not a health hazard.

Cakeandcardio · 28/12/2023 17:14

DrSeuss84 · 28/12/2023 16:46

Maybe it is just me but any boards or plates I’ve used for raw meat, especially chicken, I wash first before putting in the dishwasher. Maybe I’m on my own in that though.

I wash them too before the dishwasher (with boiling water from a kettle). However, I can't imagine that there'a any health hazard from washing the meat containers as the heat and detergent will kill the germs.

Jeffsmeffsmiff · 28/12/2023 17:15

We do it (although we don't eat meat so fish only) because otherwise the crazy London foxes would pull everything out the recycling bin and spread it up the road.

BIossomtoes · 28/12/2023 17:15

Char65 · 28/12/2023 16:53

Its crazy and completely wasteful there's no need to wash jars or clean anything before recycling it.

There is. Anything with food traces is rejected and goes to landfill. I put everything in the dishwasher.

WillowCraft · 28/12/2023 17:15

TempName247 · 28/12/2023 17:06

Some councils tell you not to wash the recycling as it wastes water and they wash the recycling again at the sorting plant

Let's face it hardly any of this stuff is actually recycled. It either goes into landfill in the UK or is sent to a developing country where it goes into landfill or is burnt.

Scampuss · 28/12/2023 17:15

If I had a dishwasher I would do this.

Jeffsmeffsmiff · 28/12/2023 17:15

And it's not wasting water. We put the dishwasher on anyway...

Babyroobs · 28/12/2023 17:16

We sometimes do it, although I'd tend to rinse it first. we recycle as much as possible so I guess it's just to make it as clean as possible before it goes in the recycling, the council ask you to make sure packaging is clean before it's recycled.

mrsm43s · 28/12/2023 17:16

EmpatheticAgain · 28/12/2023 17:13

Why bother to recycle if you’re going to waste so much water before recycling. It’s a joke, not a health hazard.

Because it CANNOT be recycled if it's not clean, and not only that it will contaminate the whole batch and it will all end up sent to landfill. It's not a waste of water, it's an essential part of the process (and dishwashers are more efficient than handwashing if you have one).

Miyagi99 · 28/12/2023 17:16

MolkosTeenageAngst · 28/12/2023 16:32

Where do they live that they can recycle meat packaging? I think it’s a lot of effort to go to and would question whether the packaging is actually recyclable anyway but wouldn’t particularly worry from a hygiene perspective. Presumably they put all the crockery/ utensils that touched the raw meat in the dishwasher too anyway? And a dishwasher tends to wash on a high temperature - far higher than family member could wash her hands at after touching the meat!

Edited

UK supermarkets do this (the ones where you can take your carrier bags). Kerbside recycle the meat trays as long as they’re not black.

quietlyplease · 28/12/2023 17:17

AmethystSparkles · 28/12/2023 17:11

But they’re putting the dishwasher on anyway so it saves gas and saves time.

Show quote history

No it doesn't as the room is taken up by plastic not bowls

Justcallmebebes · 28/12/2023 17:17

EmpatheticAgain · 28/12/2023 17:13

Why bother to recycle if you’re going to waste so much water before recycling. It’s a joke, not a health hazard.

Well the whole thing is totally hypocritical. We carefully wash, sort and recycle then it all gets shoved in together and shipped off to Bangladesh or similar or just dumped into landfill so not sure why we're wringing our hands

PersephonePomegranate23 · 28/12/2023 17:17

I'd worry about those flimsy plastics melting all over my dishwasher!

FKATondelayo · 28/12/2023 17:18

I clean packaging (tins, jars, some plastic boxes) for the recycling. I don't want loads of manky food bits collecting in the bin in my kitchen that I then have to clean. Plus dirty food packaging is unrecyclable.

Baffled how it's a health hazard. But been doing this for a decade and never had food poisoning.

JellyfishandShells · 28/12/2023 17:19

I rinse anything that will be going in the recycling that has touched food, otherwise we have the bellowed 2am declamation of the menu followed by crashing sorting noises from the foxes.

FKATondelayo · 28/12/2023 17:20

FKATondelayo · 28/12/2023 17:18

I clean packaging (tins, jars, some plastic boxes) for the recycling. I don't want loads of manky food bits collecting in the bin in my kitchen that I then have to clean. Plus dirty food packaging is unrecyclable.

Baffled how it's a health hazard. But been doing this for a decade and never had food poisoning.

I clean them in the dishwasher for clarity.

Flossflower · 28/12/2023 17:20

PersephonePomegranate23 · 28/12/2023 17:17

I'd worry about those flimsy plastics melting all over my dishwasher!

They don’t melt but they usually end up with a slightly different shape

StragglyTinsel · 28/12/2023 17:21

There’s the putting packaging in the dishwasher thing. Which seems over the top.

But there’s also this utterly weird MN thing where people don’t seem to understand that dishwashers and washing machines actually wash things. So many weird posts about contamination and health hazards. It’s bonkers.

Lucienandjean · 28/12/2023 17:22

I do this. It's much more hygienic than just rinsing the packaging. Dirty plastic will just be thrown away by any recycling company, and it'll probably ruin the whole batch.

Reugny · 28/12/2023 17:22

Char65 · 28/12/2023 16:53

Its crazy and completely wasteful there's no need to wash jars or clean anything before recycling it.

You clearly don't have foxes.

Some recycling containers in my area are open boxes or plastic sacks. On collection day the households who don't wash their recycling have it spread around the road

rwalker · 28/12/2023 17:24

Always done it
not the best at putting bins out so can be sat there for a month

put it in the dishwasher out of laziness rather than any ocd hygiene thing

MolkosTeenageAngst · 28/12/2023 17:25

Miyagi99 · 28/12/2023 17:16

UK supermarkets do this (the ones where you can take your carrier bags). Kerbside recycle the meat trays as long as they’re not black.

Show quote history

Oh I didn’t realise supermarkets offered recycling. Maybe the kerbside recycling depends on where you live as the only plastic I can put in mine is plastic bottles, no plastic trays or plastic packaging of any other kind.

EmpatheticAgain · 28/12/2023 17:26

mrsm43s · 28/12/2023 17:16

Because it CANNOT be recycled if it's not clean, and not only that it will contaminate the whole batch and it will all end up sent to landfill. It's not a waste of water, it's an essential part of the process (and dishwashers are more efficient than handwashing if you have one).

Show quote history

It was years ago where I am that you had to clean everything. Now it’s just empty and rinse. All households have 3 recycle bins, with altogerher 10 different dividers.

TempName247 · 28/12/2023 17:27

Washing of plastic:

To think putting raw meat packaging in dishwasher is crazy?!!
PickAChew · 28/12/2023 17:29

Doesn't the heat of the dishwasher distort the plastic?