I finally figured out my whole recycling routine was pointless after a guy at the plant in San Jose told me one thing

Julia Jones · 2026-09-24T06:45:05.376299+00:00

I had been rinsing every jar and peeling labels off cans for about 2 years because I thought dirty stuff got tossed. Then a tour guide at the San Jose recovery facility said the labels and small food bits burn off or get screened anyway, and the rinsing was mostly for smell, not for sorting. What actually kills recycling there is plastic bags and greasy pizza boxes jamming the belts, and I had been tossing those in with zero guilt the whole time. So I spent all that effort on the wrong problem and ignored the two things that actually break the line. Does your city actually take greasy boxes or is mine just saying that?

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I finally figured out my whole recycling routine was pointless after a guy at the plant in San Jose told me one thing | Climate Action - SMM Buzz