I don’t want to wash up chicken packets and jars of mayonnaise!!

[ChristmasBaby2026]

My council like many have recently changed our recycling. We now have:

• a bin for paper and card
• a bin for “mixed recycling”
• the food bin
• the black bin
• the garden bin (which I have to pay extra for 😡)

The only substantial change other than the number of bins to put things in is they will now collect glass whereas we previously had to go to the bottle bank.

But it now means they are now only collecting our black bin once every THREE weeks (and currently not for 4 because the new system has stupidly started on a recycling week).

How are families supposed to only have rubbish collected once every three weeks? There is simply no way.

I do recycle but I have always drawn the line at washing up gross things like packets of mince and jars of mayonnaise. But apparently the council have decided people have nothing better to do. I wouldn’t resent it so much if I thought it was actually making a difference but my landfill mayonnaise jar is not the main problem here!

God no, hourly😛

I rinse out packets and tins and jars go I. The dishwasher. Fish wrappings tend to go in the bin as they seem ha4der to rinse off…depends. But it’s not a huge issue. I’d rather that than they stink out the recycling box ….

We're a family of 5 and have barely anything in the black bin so we could manage every 3 weeks - since we had the food bin it's been bloody great how little goes in the main bin!

If you put stuff in the recycling without it being washed it contaminates the whole lot and it has to be sent to landfill.

Sometimes it does feel futile but I can then have a clear conscience that I am doing my bit

I think it’s more that the meat juices can spray over the area. You have to make sure there is no clean washing up on the side. It’s just not particularly good food hygiene practice.

Hundreds or thousands of these "zeros" aren't actually zero.
What a selfish way to twist reality.

A lot of people on here seem upset at the thought of rinsing meat wrappers in the kitchen sink, but surely they wash their sinks every day?

I put the plastic meat trays in the sink, add a tiny drop of washing up liquid, and they get washed as I’m using the sink for other things. They don’t need to be washed to make them totally sterile - just clean enough to be free of meat residue. And the sink gets washed after I’m done cooking, regardless of whether I’ve washed recyclables or not, so no extra water or effort.

This takes virtually no effort. And, as has been mentioned repeatedly, one contaminated item can result in an entire batch of recyclables ending up as landfill.

But mine is close to zero. I'm not twisting anything. 🙄

I think you need a different technique.

You dont need a diswasher to wash a mayonnaise jar.

No, you obviously should not be putting fat or oil down the sink.
First you scrape it well with a spoon. Then use a spatula. Finally wipe it with a piece of kitchen roll or a napkin. Then it ready to be handwashed or put in a dishwasher. Just handle it like any other greasy plates, pans or containers.

I watched a programme about that too. The staff have to wear heavy duty masks covering their entire face.

Every day's a school day. I did not know meat containers could go in recycling. Just like the ordinary things you get mince and chicken in?

I love now being able to recycle glass from home. I live opposite a public glass recycling bin and it's bliss not to hear people throwing bottles in at 4am so much and the bank is no longer overflowing and fly tipped.

I also like having a food caddy.

At worst a bit of paper goes into your filter, which you will be cleaning out regularly anyway.

Having spent a couple of days at the centre where they bring the recycling in before it goes elsewhere I can tell you it bloody stinks. Wash the jars ffs. Think of the poor bin men having to deal with your filth.

I'm on a water meter, we use the last of the washing up water to rinse bottles etc .We also collect the run off water when changing from hot to cold, you can always use that

MN is always going on about people not showering enough and being minging well not washing your jars is minging as well

That is a crazy amount of steps though when you think about it.

It's really not. Each step is tiny, a bit like washing a pan or bowl with the same kind of waste in it.

Please read the last few posts just above this one.

We’ve had this for a decade.

You will be fine

It doesn't take any extra cleaning.

Unless you actually think the halloumi tub arrives at the plant, bypasses all recycling processes and goes straight to the factory that repurposes the tub into someone's patio chair because its ok, Mrs Miggins at number 47 has already swilled it out using her bath water?

Do people still believe that if you throw unwashed jar or tin out, that the whole lorry load is contaminated and rejected?
Think about it, nothing would be recycled ever, as there is always going to be some unwashed items in there.
Don't keep falling for this nonsense, ours is all burnt but still want us to wash it all first, utter madness.

Yabu and there nothing "gross" about washing up any kind of recyclable food packaging so long as the food residue hasn't gone mouldy. The food residue inside a mayonnaise jar or mince packet is no different from the smears on plates or choping boards that the food was eaten from or prepared on. If you genuinely find it "gross" like some kind of phobia of nearly-emply food packaging that's a weird mental issue you might be able to get counselling for. The vast majority of household waste is recyclable and if you properly sort out your recyclables then you will be absolutely fine with the nonrecyclables being only collected once every 3 or 4 weeks. We have 4 x 15L bins in our kitchen, one for nonrecyclables and the others for various kinds of recycling, plus a 5L compost caddy which is emptied to the outside compost caddy every 24-48 hrs. The various recycling ones are always full to overflowing by the end of each week but the nonrecyclables is rarely more than about 80% full after a week, so our 140L wheely bin is never snywhere near full when it is collected. Scooping some soapy water into a mayo jar and giving it a shake takes less than 10 seconds. You are not so precious that you can't be expected to do such little tasks.

I don't wash raw meat packets out- they go in the normal bin as don't want meat juice splashing round my sink.

Don't see how washing a mayo jar is gross though and something to grimace at as you eat that raw anyway!

So I guess you wouldn't mind if the bin lorry didn't bother picking up your bins, or the water company didn't bother supplying you with water.

After all, you are only one person. Who cares if you get missed out?

I wash jars, tins and packets.

I only rinse so my recycle bin doesn't stink in the kitchen- not to benefit the recycling staff. As if dried on tomatoes or mayo give off toxic gases. Utter bollocks. If it did they'd wear protective gear anyway.

Still convinced the recycling ends up in landfill anyway and that we're all being duped!

Ridiculous argument.

How to do you wash up the board you used to prepare the meat?