Recyclable Food Containers - To Wash Or Not?

by Emily Matchar, Posted Feb 6th 2009 @ 11:00AM

At Slate, Nina Shen Rastogi answers the question of whether or not it's necessary to thoroughly wash out recyclable containers before tossing them in the bin. As someone who's often tempted to secretly trash empty peanut butter jars rather than spending ten minutes cleaning them with soapy water (I never do, don't worry), I was glad to hear that the answer is, apparently, no. "Recycling facilities are well equipped to handle dirty cans and bottles, so some caked-on tomato sauce and the occasional stray chickpea won't significantly hinder the process," she writes. Still, it's better to rinse out containers, especially smelly ones like mayo and tartar sauce, before binning them, if for nothing else but a courtesy to the workers. Rastogi suggests using a small spatula to swish out most of the residue before giving the containers a quick rinse.

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Filed Under: Food News
Tags: environment, recycling

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-06-2009 @12:15PM Me said... Or, just don't recycle! That's a lot easier...
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2-06-2009 @2:06PM Richard Bacchus said... please don't waste water rinsing
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2-06-2009 @5:04PM amyco said... First, I use a spatula to get most of the residue out anyway...even before I consider rinsing. Can't waste that last bit of mayo or PB. Second, for jars like these, I fill the jar half full with warm water, put the lid back on and shake it like crazy, dump it out, and consider it rinsed. I agree that there's a fine line between wasting water and the good of recycling.
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2-06-2009 @5:47PM Kassie said... It is a requirement in Minneapolis that they are washed. If not, they will not be picked up.
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2-07-2009 @9:06AM Alice said... The only blanket recommendation on how to handle recyclables should be "check with your local recycler". My husband is on our local recycling board, and the rules change depending on what processor our town contracts with. The old one needed our recyclables washed because they were hand sorted. Pity the poor person stuck with the job of hand sorting your unwashed, smelly, moldy recyclables. Our new processor has an automated sorting system, so washing isn't as important. It gets frustrating for the local board to have to deal with people who read some other town's rules and argue with the local board because our rules are different.
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2-07-2009 @2:26PM David Millar said... I don't go out of the way to completely wash my cans, but usually if I'm making a pot of soup I will add water to the can to rinse it, but then pour the water into the pot of soup as well. No nutrients or flavor (or water) wasted, and the can is pretty much clean.
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2-10-2009 @1:07PM LinC said... I wash ALL containers in my recyclebin. Otherwise, I would have big bugs queuing up at the recycle bin in my garage for a midnight snack. I'm sure it would be much worse for the environment to have to have the exterminators do my house than to use a little water to wash out cans.
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2-12-2009 @8:09AM Elaine - The Gourmet Girl said... Unless you want a plethera of bugs combined with a stench, take a few minutes to rinse. We don't have daily recycle pick up and keep it in our garage. The Florida heat and 'dark' combined would be a perfect breeding ground.
You have to be discerning.
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