Plastic recycling

[Pegs11]

Not sure if this is the right board but here goes … do people ensure their plastic waste is washed completely free of all food before putting it in the recycling? My sister seems to think that if there is so much as a speck of food on it, the whole batch is ditched because it’s contaminated.

I wouldn’t have thought that everyone cleans their plastic waste until it’s spotless, and that if there is a speck of food that means it’s useless for recycling?!?! In fact I’d say that it’s pretty much impossible that everyone does this. I know most of it ends up in landfill anyway, but surely the bits that DO get recycled go through some sort of cleaning machine thingy first?!?!

I’m completely ignorant about this, does anyone know the facts?

And hats off to those who manage to live plastic free!

In our area anything with any food on it can mean the whole load is rejected and goes into landfill. So yes, we wash all our recycling

We can also be fined if the refuse collectors see contaminated recycling in our load

I do ensure everything is spotlessly clean, yes. It's not difficult. After I've washed the dishes, I use the remaining water to clean stuff for the green bin, if there's anything particularly dirty, soak it first. Leave everything to dry on the drainer and then into the bin.

My (admittedly badly phrased) question was more about whether it’s feasible that a whole batch of plastic (or tin cans) can be completely free of contamination, human nature being what it is.

When you think of the amount of households who contribute plastic waste to each truckload of recycling, is it feasible that every single one of those households has taken the time to thoroughly decontaminate their plastic waste? In most areas there will always be a proportion of people who, for example, consistently leave rubbish out on the street, who never clean up after their dogs, and who just, y’know, don’t care… and I don’t believe for a second that all of them would take such care with their plastic waste!

I just believe that it’s nigh on impossible that any batch of plastic can be completely free of contamination. Which means, if it’s true that a batch will be discarded if any contamination is found, that most batches will be contaminated to some degree or other. And are therefore ineligible for recycling.

Surely there must be some kind of cleaning/decontamination process that batches of plastic go through once they reach the depot or factory or wherever the truck takes them. Otherwise almost every batch would be riddled with contamination… surely?

I’m just trying to make sense of this!

Google tells me it’s not about the plastic but about the paper in the load. If foodstuff from a plastic container or a tin gets onto paper in the recycling load the paper has to be incinerated or go to landfill because it can’t be cleaned. The plastic and the tin can be cleaned (as long as the residue is only minor).

@RoyKentFanclub teehee, I forgot Google knows absolutely everything 😂

That’s really interesting. It’s reassuring to know that minor residue can be cleaned from plastic. I really couldn’t believe that it wouldn’t go through some sort of decontamination process at the other end. Thanks for clearing that up! (No pun intended 😅)