[TPC2]

Honest question. Just moved to LV from NY where water conservation is a concern, but not to the extent that it is out here. I want to conform and do what's best for this area but am honestly wondering is it better to use the water to clean the cans and recycle them or trash the cans without washing and save the water?
Thinking they'd have to be washed pretty thoroughly to avoid stinking in the LV heat especially since recycles only get picked up once every two weeks.

Any thoughts from long-term residents?

Thanks,
Pam

[Croce]

I know exactly what you mean as I was thinking about this very issue awhile back. Here's the way I handle it. I usually hand wash my dishes by hand to save water. I have a double sink and keep the water for rinsing in a plastic container in one of the sink bowls. After I finish washing the dishes, I then use the remaining water to rinse out the recyclables. It's usually soup cans or some plastics and the left over dish water is perfect. This way I haven't used any additional water and have gotten a second use out of the original water. Since it still has detergent in it, it gets the recyclables clean. I let them dry on a second dish rack I use just for recyclables and then put them in the bin to await pickup. It works good for me.

Good Luck.
Croce

[MomMom]

Republic Services does not require you to rinse your recyclables, but I always have, just to keep the crawling critters away from my red-white and blue recycle bins in the garage.

If you have city water, any water you use in the house goes down the drain and back to the recycling plant with it eventually going back into Lake Mead, but keep in mind, you are paying for that water to rinse your cans and bottles. Not a big expense for most. Thanks for being so concerned and wanting to do the right thing reagrding the water issue in the desert.

Here's some neat reading...

Las Vegas is the most water smart city in the country:


Fishman: Vegas Represents Brilliant Case Study in Water Management - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Fishman-Vegas-Represents-dg-1906596309.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=9&asset=&cc ode= - broken link)

[Buzz123]

We usually rinse ours but don't get too carried away with it; although there is really no reason too. Depends on where you keep your recycles, and if you have one of those new covered containers. We honestly haven't recycled for a while because they kept skipping our neighborhood, and we'd end up carrying it all back in the garage until next time. Then our bins would be full and we'd have to use something else. And of course it's always windy on recycle day. When the neighbor told me a driver said they don't recycle it anyway, they dump it in the l;landfill, I said to he** with recycle. If they want me to recycle they'll provide a wheeled cart with a lid, and they'll actually pick it up like they're supposed to.

[crazy_bd]

I have been monitoring the recycle truck guy taking my red, white and blue bins, one after the other, and dump the all in the same receptacle on the truck, no sorting of any kind. Can't they just give us one big recycle bin? What a sham.

That being said, I find that unless you slosh something sugary in the bins, they don't require rinsing. The dry climate keeps my recycle from smelling, so far at least.

[Hemlock140]

Interesting thread. I'm in Utilities and was very surprised at the volume of water in the shower at the Mirage when I was there a few weeks ago. It nearly knocked me over, as I'm used to our low-flow shower heads required by law here. Sounds like residents are conserving while hotels are not.

[SunnLuvn]

This thread has great timing - I just popped on today to find out if anyone knows of a convenient way for APARTMENT dwellers to RECYCLE! I've never lived in a place that doesn't offer recycling bins or recycling pickup, so I'm at a loss as to where to put my recyclables (and my bags are stacking up)! I'm in the Paradise Valley (SE Vegas) area. Also, I'm assuming cardboard, cans, glass of all colors, and 1 & 2 plastics are all accepted?

Thanks in advance!

[Danknee]

No need to wash the cans and no need to wait for recycling day! Just put your recyclable cans out on the curb and they will be picked up by the needy or low-end entrepreneurs.

link >> https://www.city-data.com/forum/las-v...-should-i.html

[PinkString]

I always thought cans and things hard to clean would have to be cleaned before going into the recycling bin, and so I thought if they want it, they can clean it themselves, so into the trash the cans go. They won't take glass recycling and thats one thing they SHOULD be taking, so into the trash that goes too.
We are on the once a week pickup, where all recycling goes into the blue lid bin, the trash goes into the black lid bin.
They are profiting on the recycling and should be paying us once a week to get it, but they don't.
California had a better recycling system. You could load up glass, plastic, paper and take it yourself and they pay you. It wasn't a lot, but it helped now and then. And nice to be rid of it too.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by PinkString

I always thought cans and things hard to clean would have to be cleaned before going into the recycling bin, and so I thought if they want it, they can clean it themselves, so into the trash the cans go. They won't take glass recycling and thats one thing they SHOULD be taking, so into the trash that goes too.
We are on the once a week pickup, where all recycling goes into the blue lid bin, the trash goes into the black lid bin.
They are profiting on the recycling and should be paying us once a week to get it, but they don't.
California had a better recycling system. You could load up glass, plastic, paper and take it yourself and they pay you. It wasn't a lot, but it helped now and then. And nice to be rid of it too.

I thought you lived in Las Vegas, Pink. We get a white bin for paper, a red one for plastic and aluminum, and a blue one for glass. (Or is it blue plastic, and red glass?) I don't really think it matters anymore which bin you use since they mix it all together now. They are experimenting in some communities with providing a wheeled cart for all recycles and another one for garbágé. That's what my daughter has. I think the community has to ask for it, and I think they only pick up once a week instead of two.