Do you rinse before you recycle?

In a world where we are constantly bombarded with multiple things we should be doing to save the planet, filling our home recycling bin is one way we can all make a difference.  

But it’s not as easy as it sounds!  Households up and down the country are in a state of confusion as to what can safely be thrown into the recycling.

To address what can be recycled in a specific way depends on which facilities are available in your area. A quick look on your local council’s website should give you an idea, although some are more clear than others, what we can say is that, as a general rule of thumb, the cleaner the item which is placed into the recycling the better.

Why should I be cleaning my recycling?

Even if your unrinsed yoghurt container or drinks can is upright when you put it into the bin, after being dumped into the lorry, bounced along for miles and compressed, there’s a pretty good chance that somewhere along the way whatever started off inside will come out.

That’s bad news for any paper or cardboard that might be on board. While a drop of yoghurt might not make a huge difference, it adds up. And even a small bit of oil or grease could ruin an entire load of paper recyclables.

How clean is clean?

A quick rinse is fine. The heat process it will go through will burn off small amounts of stuck-on food.

What if I can’t clean it?

If an item is very dirty then it is up to us to use our judgement. If something is soaked in grease then it probably should just be binned but if there is only a thin smear of grease then it may be able to be recycled.

If an item is sparkling clean, it can theoretically be processed back into exactly the material it was before and items that are not so clean can go on to produce less high-quality materials.

Do you feel you are informed enough by your council as to what should be recycled? Do you always try to clean your items before putting them in the recycling bin?