Washing plastic raw meat trays - do you?

[Bonariensis]

Just as it says really. I'll happily recycle most plastic and glass but I've always drawn the line at washing out those plastic trays that raw meat comes in and I chuck them in the general waste. I'd be interested to know if I am out of line with what other people do.

I give other recycling a quick rinse but I can't convince myself that this would do anything for meat trays other than spread bacteria around my sink - leading to needing to scrub that with hot soapy water and bleach.

Am I a wimp?

I rinse and put them in the recycling. Just being careful not to spray the water everywhere.

I do same as you

I rinse and put in recycling

We can't recycle them so they have to go in general waste. If they are dry I don't bother rinsing but if there is liquid in I tip that out and rinse carefully to avoid splashing.

Does your council recycle them? Ours does, do of course they are washed and put in the recycling! I don't know if they make it to be recycled but I've done my bit at least.

I wash them in the washing up water (once I've finished everything else), then leave to dry, and then put in recycling.

The hot washing up water and soap should kill any bacteria. I've never felt the need to bleach the sink afterwards, just the usual rinse with clean water.

Everything gets sloshed around in the used dishwater and then left in the sink to drain before it goes in the wheelie bin

I don't really see why they are any more disgusting than other food containers. Just wash with washing up liquid like everything else. You don't throw away a knife used to cut raw meat, do you? Just wash it and recycle if recyclable.

Also even if I am putting something in the landfill waste bin I wash it out. I prefer my bin not to stink or get maggots as I so often see/hear about from others. Our bin doesn't smell because no wet food goes in it.

wash and recycle. except for those funny vacum seeled ones you get with smoked fish. Its impossible to get those clean.

I wash them and recycle them.

But I also regularly bleach the sink when I soak my dish cloths

Yep. Wash in hot soapy water - same as everything else that touches raw meat.

Your being illogical. .presumably you have a meat board and knife for cutting meat.it's no different.

I wash mine at the end of washing up leave to dry pop in the recycling bin.

I rinse mine out with hot water from the kettle after making a cup of tea then they go in the recycling.

I have a folding meat board and that and the knife go in the dishwasher.

Its really unclear whether my council actually recycles these trays. I'm in London and we have communal estate bins which are usually full of all sorts of non recyclables as well as recyclables as everyone knows it can't be traced to them. In practice I believe most of our recycling goes to landfill.

So the only one I am satisfying by doing this is me. Does look as if most people are washing them out so I will give it a go. Everything else goes in the dishwasher so it will have to be hot soapy water in the sink.

Thanks for the feedback.

Yes Scrivette that's what I was thinking. A squirt of dishwashing soap and hot water from the kettle.

I just rinse and out.

I put the squishy with blood pad in an empty bread bag and wash and recycle the tray. If it a big tray then I use it in the greenhouse to put seedling plant pots on.

. In practice I believe most of our recycling goes to landfill.

It really doesn't. Packaging says on the label if it's recyclable.

I rinse and recycle.

But like you Bonariensis we live on estate with communal recycling bins frequently used as overflow refuse bins. I think occasionally of asking an FOI of council about rates of actual recycling from estates...

Plastic in this country doesn't get recycled - it gets shipped abroad where it is burned or dumped. You may as well just place it in the black bin, it makes no difference at all!

Rinse and recycle. I hate the idea of plastic going into landfill.

Our council doesn't recycle plastic pots and trays so they go straight in general waste

We have a half sink between the big one and the draining board so any recycling goes in there and gets washed when we use that sink to wash our hands.

Do you take the film 'lid' off fully thorough? I don't and I always wonder if it means it won't be recycled as presumably the lid and the tray are made up of different plastics?