The Kind Life


Alicia's recycling bins

Have any of you wondered about this too?  Whenever I recycle used food containers, like from my rice milk or maple syrup, I always stop for a minute and have the same thought: Yes, these things are recyclable, but what about the food residue that I can’t get off? I mean, have you ever tried getting every last bit of maple syrup cleaned out of a container? It can be an all-morning activity if you let it!  Obviously I want to recycle everything I can, but I’ve always feared that leaving any leftover residue on containers would make them un-recyclable. Plus, cleaning your empties just seems like the polite thing to do, right?

What’s worse, I heard a rumor somewhere that if you put any containers with residue in a recycling bin, it can compromise the entire bin to the point where nothing from that bin can be recycled. Even just the thought that this might be true has made me scrub every recyclable container until it was purged from any trace of food that might have ever touched it.  But this can become a lot of work, so I finally decided to do a little research and get to the bottom of this question once and for all.
 
The good news is that I wasn’t able to find any information out there to support the “contaminated bin” myth. That said, every area has its own procedures and regulations for what it recycles and how, so it’s always best to learn the dos and don’ts of your specific recycling program.  One easy way to do this is visit Earth911.com and enter your zip code to get a full list of recycling programs and centers in your area – with links to their websites and contact info.  Then you can research your programs individually and find out what they can and can’t work with. I print a list of all the stuff that’s recyclable in our area and post it near my bins at home so that everyone in my household is aware. Earth911.com also has a lot of other great general info and tips for recyclers. 
 
This aside, I did learn a few general guidelines about recycling that helped put things in perspective. First, there are a lot of steps your recyclable waste goes through between when your bin at home gets picked up and the end result. It is sorted, transported, resorted and processed, often multiple times. Usually most, if not all of these steps involve various cleaning processes. Most “single stream” recycling programs (where donors put all types of recyclables in a single bin) have accounted for the fact that not every can or bottle they receive is going to be as squeaky clean as I make mine and have implemented appropriate steps into their process.
 
So great, we’re all off the hook, right? Not exactly. The fact is, at many points along the recycling chain, the materials will sit around for days, weeks or even months at a time, which means that your residual tomato sauce on the inside of that jar is getting grosser, stinkier and more bacterial by the day.  Now multiply that by hundreds of tons.  This not only makes things more disgusting for the recycling facility workers (it’s pretty tough, low-paying work even on a good day), it can attract all kinds of rats and other critters. So, while it’s not absolutely necessary to scrub away every last piece of residue, a nice considerate effort to make your items somewhat presentable before you toss them in the bin is appreciated.
 
But… (yes, there’s one more but)… Keep in mind that the more thoroughly you wash these recyclables, the more water you’re using and potentially wasting, so don't go overboard and try to scrub them til their sterile.  Recycling centers are not hospitals, so just give your recyclables a quick courtesy rinse and get rid of as much food as you can before you toss it in the bin.  As always, it’s about balancing cleanliness and conservation with a little bit of kindness.

What kind of recycling program do you have in your area?

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I like to run hot water into the bottles until about a third or half-full, replace the cap and then shake vigorously for 30-60 seconds or so. Add a drop of soap, too, if the sticky is too sticky. :)

do you know what's SO interesting?  i live in the most upscale city in pittsburgh, and WE DON'T RECYCLE because, according to the local aristocrats, the cost of recycling outweighs the value.  that angers me so much!  so, i recycle.  but i drive my glass containers my parents' house every fortnight.  they recycle it for me.  

i'm very aware of scraping every little last bit of residue from the containers because i'm a neat freak.  so i very much resonate with this post.  :) 

http://www.nicoleandgwendolyn.com 

Whenever I do my dishes, I just add the tins and bottles for recycling to this, and thus save water. It's actually not that big a deal...just be careful of those sharp tin edges and place the tin lids inside the tins so that whoever comes to pick up the goods won't cut themselves.

I ususally try and rinse things immediately or at least put some water in it.  If I forget or don't have time I spray some vinegar water into the can/container, let it soak for several minutes and then rinse with hot water.  This looosens up any dried residue usually it's no problem getting it pretty clean AND the vinegar helps deodorize as well.  I always keep a spray bottle of vinegar water on my counter.

I work at the Michigan State University Recyling Center and we get some really nasty recyclabes that clearly havent been cleaned at all, and they are still recycled along with everything else. The only reason it wouldnt be is if something is in a bag that is too gross for anyone to sort through, in which case it may get thrown away. So just dont through a bunch of food-or-otherwise-soiled recyclabes in a bag together and you should be good. 

However, I still encourage people to at least attempt to rinse their recyclables. It is much more pleasant dealing with semi-clean reclcyables than ones that looks and smell like they've been rotting in food waste for days!!

re: recycling your Rice Milk container.  I drink Rice Dream but it's sold in a Tetrapak container, which means it isn't recylable and that's always bothered me... but I don't want to drink dairy or soy (soy milk doesn't taste good after the first day or two of being opened).  

I noticed you mentioned your rice milk cotainers as something you recycle - so what brand do you buy? This could totally solve my problem! Thanks!

This is such an important topic - thank you so much for doing the research and posting about it. I live in Los Angeles, so I'm always aware of how much water I'm using. As you mentioned, making sure all of your recyclables are squeaky clean can waste an awful lot of agua. For especially dirty containers like maple syrup bottles, salad dressing bottles, etc., I run them through the dishwasher (as part of a full load, of course). This is much more efficient than washing them individually. I learned at a eco event recently that the major issue comes with dirty or oily paper items. A greasy cardboard pizza box, for example, can potentially contaminate a whole pallet of cardboard, rendering it useless. For this reason, it's especially important that you only put clean, dry paper and cardboard items in the recycling bin. Another big offender is tetrapaks - those cardboard cartons that are used for juice boxes, soups, etc. Some people mistakenly think these are recyclable, but they aren't because they're a composite of multiple materials. For this reason, it's good to stick with simple plastic, metal or glass containers for all of your grocery items - just say no to coconut water cartons and juiceboxes for the kiddos.

A must have for your kitchen sink. I have a separate faucet for Hot water (Insta Hot). A small tank under the sink, and electricity heats the water to a boil. This will rinse even maple syrup. And I use it for my pasta, let the noodle sit for 3-5 minutes. The handle is Child proof.....

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