Tap Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 Our community recycling is pretty good. I recently discovered that they will accept juice boxes for recycling. The instructions say, rinse-throw away straw- crush. I wonder in these circumstances how important it is to actually rinse the containers? Honestly, I try hard to recycle and we do recycle at least 50% of our garbage (remaining is predominately plastics they don't take, and diapers). BUt there are times when I am in a hurry and don't rinse out the chicken broth can and just throw it in. Juice boxes are another that I can see the extra step of cutting off the top, and rinsing, maybe a time consuming step that doesn't get done. I often feed the neighborhood so at the end of a summer day, I can have many juice boxes to reclaim. Is there really a great need for this step? Am I missing something? I can understand getting solid food waste out of a can, like chili, but rinsing out an empty juice box seems a little extreme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Buckin' Longhorn Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 I don't know for sure, but when I don't rinse out soda cans etc . . . my recycling bin gets full of bees. I can imagine if a whole neighborhood didn't rinse and the recycling pile became unsafe for the people who have to process it. I'm not saying this is the official reason, just what I've experienced at our house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Bees are the tip of the iceberg. The bigger issue is rats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 According to our community recycling program, rinsing is important for bugs, but it also reduces the likelyhood of problems caused by different chemicals mixing together - particularly certain cleaning products. Even a little bleach and ammonia mixed together can cause toxic fumes for example. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I think it reduces the likelihood of moulds growing and destroying an entire load of recycling. I rinse everything. With juice containers I just run some water from the tap into the hole the juice comes out of and then give it a bit of a shake and empty it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caffeineandbooks Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 🧟♀️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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