Should I rinse cans, bottles, & plastic containers before I put them in recycling?
Answer:
I work for the City of Stockton ca. In the solid waste division/ Recycling Division. It is not mandatory that you rinse your recyclables, but it is very helpful. We too have the mixed recyclables bin and when the items are mixed it sometimes causes things to become unrecyclable. Just like you said about the peanut butter and the cardboard box, When you have a box or any paper product for that matter and it becomes contaminated with food waste like a pizza box or you spill something on some newspaper. if it is contaminated with food waste then it would go into your green waste or yard waste bin so that it can be composted, once it is soiled it cannot be remade into paper again so don't just trash it put it in the green waste and give it back to the earth. And just to clarify the statement about it wasting oil and resources when you recycle it actually saves double the amount of oil and resources when you recycle than if you were to use virgin products. For example it takes one million years or more for glass to break down in land fills and only minutes to melt it down into different kinds of glass.
It is wasteful of fuel and resources to recycle. Throw these things in the garbage can.
I would so bugs don't get all over everything.
i usually rinse cans and bottles
dirty paper should be used to wrap trash
id say dont rinse anything.. here in minnesota we have to seperate papers cans and plastics, and we only rinse plastics, like milk and juice containers.
but since its all mixed together, id guess its safe to just put em all together, unless its really messy.
Rinsing cuts down on unhealthy insects, it should be done
each city has its own set of guidelines as to how they want you to prepare your blue box, this is dependent upon their recycling facilities.
Call the city and find out, or look up the recycling recommendations for your region online.
Yes, it's better to rinse and put it in separate recycling bean.
Good example is what you said already. It get into other materials and smells, too.
Some people worry about wasting water while washing them.
Once used-water goes into drain system and it will get cleaned eventually either by human effort or natural recycling system of our earth. So don't worry about washing those and please try to recycle anything you can.
You're doing a great job to save our earth although it seems nothing or just a little effort!
Here's good website to show you why recycling is important and how you can do it.
http://articles.directorym.com/recycling...
I dont like to get in the habit of washing my trash. If they want me to recycle, they can wash it.
always rinse things before you put them in the recycling and recycle everything you can its really good for the enviroment
If you can rinse out the items just a little, it can keep the area free from unwanted smells and pests. i am not sure if it is worth rinsing out a peanut butter container, it would waste more water than it is worth.
I have taken my stuff to the local recycle center for years
I can tell you that while it is not mandatory, it all gets crushed, its surely helps cut down the odors and grime.
It only take 4 seconds to rinse out a tin can, makes moving it much more user friendly
Unless you want vermin, I would suggest you wash.
I rinse my cans and containers. Otherwise I think it would smell and attract bugs while I am waiting for Saturday to bring my things to the recycling center. Also the place I go to asks that we bring clean containers.
It's not necessary to rinse anymore.
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