Question by Jen: Does anyone think about how much water they waste recycling?
Rinsing out your trash… Nothing wasteful about that…?
Best answer:
Answer by poisonous_tree_frog
I don’t rinse it unless its sits in the house for a while so it won’t stink. The water is recycled anyway. They have “waste water treatment plants.” If they didn’t most of the world’s water would be soapy or poopy!
Give your answer to this question below!
i think all the time about it , as i have to pay for it when i used it , i say use rain water where possible
I do all the time. I lived in Florida in the driest of seasons and we were on a ration system so I learned a lot of ways to conserve. When I wash dishes I use two basins. One for washing and one for rinsing. When I am done I use the soapy water to wash my windshield on my car. I rinse out my recyclables in the rinse water then take it and rinse my windshield. Washing of cars was prohibited but at least my windshield was clean and so was my recycle. No bugs, no bees, no critters at all. I don’t have a site just common sense. Of course there are endless ways to conserve, flushing toilet with left over dish washing, cleaning bathroom with wash water, watering plants with rinse water, etc.
That’s why you would use rain barrels or another type of grey water system to rinse the recyclables it really isn’t that hard to figure out.
The reason they ask that this is done is not out of necessity for recycling as was stated most recycling would be hot enough to burn away other items (except when dealing with plastics) but rather sanitation of the initial storage facility. By having the material clean when it is dropped off it prevents that from becoming a problem if you doubt this volunteer at your community recycle center and see what it is like when people don’t rinse items.
DID YOU KNOW YOU NEED NOT RINSE OUT YOUR RECYCLED BOTTLES AND CANS? CALL EM UP,,,ASK,,YOU’ll FIND OUT I”M CORRECT!
If you are rinsing under running water then you are wasting water! Try filling a basin (or the sink) with water and rinsing them all in that. If you use a basin, you can then take it outside to pour it on your garden. That way it isn’t wasted at all.
If you need to rinse out your trash you need not use a lot of water. Take a basin of water and trying rinsing out with that limited amount. Recycling is a good thing for some things like bottles and cans. It is also a good idea if you recycle your grey water from the bathroom. In a situation where places like Southern California are facing a water shortage conserving water can save many precious gallons of water and also keep your bills down. For tips on how to save water, visit http://www.bewaterwise.com/tips01.html
No, it isn’t an issue here. We have a nice, high, renewable water table. Our local recycling companies require that recyclables be clean, and I think they’re allowed to trash anything we don’t follow the rules on, so it’s necessary!
I suppose in Florida or California during a water crunch it could really be an issue, but around here water is quite the affordable luxury. I’m also not concerned about the energy used to pump water in relation to what’s saved in resources.
In the UK glass containers such as bottles and jars should be cleaned and any tops or corks removed before recycling. I do find this rather strange as as you say they are heated so high that anything will be burnt off.
Really, is it that tough to wash out the bottle? You have your priorities misplaced… Did you know that it takes_________ gallons of water to produce a pair of blue jeans? Check out the link: http://www.xpvcapital.com/article/articleItem.cfm?cms_article_id=8
Anyway. The long-term costs of recycling is far less than the long-term costs of producing things the first time. Rinsing out bottles is donating my share of the long-term costs – and usually unnecessary, anyway, and this is why.
The heat of melting the glass easily burns off any organic/edible materials including the paper labels (with or without metal or metal paints) plastic rings around the neck of the bottle, corks, rubber seals, cigarette butts, vomit, spit, snot, urine, etc. Steel caps are magnetically removed from the glass after the bottles are crushed prior to melting.
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Nothing personal, dude, because your question reflects a really common attitude, but your skepticism reflects a basic childish selfishness and irresponsibility.
I use rainwater, when it rains I just put it outside for a hour or less pick it up and shake it up and rinse. May not be very clean water but it’s better than nothing
You bet there is a lot of waste doing that. Some people actually use soap to clean off bottles that get crushed. That is just plain stupid.
lol.. I drink only water so I dont rinse out the bottles before I recycle them.