Ask Dr. Green T: Workin' at the Jar Wash!

The water company asks us not to rinse our food containers(eg. milk containers etc.) before we recycle them, to conserve water; but waste management asks us to rinse out food containers, so that we don't contaminate the rest of the recycling. Which option is more environmentally friendly?
-Adam OCamb, Green News Editorial Board

The concept of whether or not one should waste the water required to clean a recyclable item is something that definitely needs to be taken into consideration. I usually wash items like yogurt or peanut butter containers before recycling them because I find such food waste will mold and be difficult for the company to clean later on. However, other items like milk containers, soup cans, and so on are a different story as they're in liquid form and don't make as much a mess after you've finished with them. Now, let's get another opinion on this issue!

Nina Shen Rastogi from Slate Magazine answers this question in her own article by explaining that "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. Residue left on plastic or glass containers generally gets flushed out with water at some point in the process; most of the gunk left behind on steel and aluminum cans is burned away when those containers get melted down. So there's no need to waste water by running the faucet over your recyclables—even if you were to get them squeaky clean, they'd probably end up getting washed again, anyhow" (Rastogi).

Also, if you're interested in learning about the recycling process for plastic food containers, then Click Here. This statement letter dates back to 1996, but not much has changed since then.

With all this information in mind, there seems to be a consensus that washing one's recyclable food containers is rather pointless as these items will be cleaned again once they hit the factory. As a common courtesy to those workers, it would be nice to rinse out the occasional mayo jar or yogurt cup, but honestly, it's going to get washed again no matter how spotless it is when you recycle it. :P

Peace&Love,
Dr. Green T


Works Cited:
Rastogi, Nina Shen. "Clean Jar, Clean Conscience?." Slate. 03 Feb 2009. Newsweek Interactive Co, Web. 16 Oct 2009. .