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Just realized I've been rinsing my recycling for years for nothing in Austin
I moved here in 2021 and always washed out every jar and bottle before tossing them, even using hot water and soap. Then last month my neighbor who works at the city facility told me they use a high-pressure wash system anyway, and my extra rinsing just wastes water. I did a quick check and apparently the energy to heat that water for my 30+ containers a week adds up to a real chunk of my carbon footprint. Has anyone else found out they were overdoing a 'green' habit and switched to a lighter routine?
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emery_white23d ago
Wait, is it really true that your rinsing adds up to a meaningful chunk of your carbon footprint? I get the water usage thing, but I think you might be giving yourself too much credit or blame there. The city trucks still drive around and burn gas no matter what you do, and the sorting machines use tons of power anyway. My thing is, if rinsing makes you feel like you're doing it right, and it gets more stuff actually recycled instead of tossed because it's gross, that's not nothing. I'd rather use a little extra water and know my cans aren't sitting in a landfill because someone at the plant didn't want to touch a spaghetti sauce jar. Are you really gonna stop rinsing and just toss sticky peanut butter jars in there?
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