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Rinse materials to remove food and oil before tossing in the recycling bin, this gives them the best chance at a second life.
Lazy options
- Have your pet earn their keep and lick the product clean (when appropriate). Yogurt tubs are great for this and provide entertainment for everyone involved.
- Run recyclables through the dishwasher- squeeze them in with a regular load. Nothing needs to be *that* clean, but it saves you the effort and gets the job done.
- Tea drinker? Boil some extra water, toss it in that sticky jar, shake it up, pour it out and you're done.
Why?
Recycling is a commodities market. What goes in must have value if it's going to be sold and manufactured into something new. Would you sell a dress to a friend if it had pea soup on it? Depending on the damage, she might pay less or nothing at all. Baling cardboard, metal, glass and plastic that is smothered in enchilada cheese is not going to have the same value that clean material has. For recycling to "work," MRFs (material recovery facilities) need to receive clean recycling so they can sort it, bale it, then sell it.
According to EPA, 25%* of recyclable material is discarded due to contamination. Depending on the location, it can be up to 40%.
*That % includes materials that cannot be recycled like plastic bags (to be addressed in another newsletter).
One bad applesauce ruins the whole bunch
A cup that still contains sauce can leak onto other materials, which causes everything around it to get contaminated. The MRF may send that cup and everything it touches to the landfill.
Ahh rats!
Contaminated products are bad for our recycling infrastructure. Food grows mold. It attracts insects. Rodents. Let your imagination run wild like that jar of peanut butter riding on the backs of three blind mice.
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