In the kitchen, packaging often isn't quite empty: a bit of leftover sauce, a spoonful of yoghurt, a splash of a drink. That may seem harmless, but it can make it harder to recycle an entire batch of packaging. A few simple habits are all it takes to avoid that.
Quick tips
→ No need to wash thoroughly — just empty is enough
→ A half-full package can still disrupt the recycling process
→ When in doubt, check Bettersorting.be or download the Recycle! app
- Why food residue is a problem
A plastic bottle, aluminium tray or drink carton is perfectly recyclable on its own. But if it still contains a large amount of food or drink residue, that becomes a lot harder. Heavily contaminated packaging sometimes can't be recycled at all anymore.
- Scrape, pour or spoon it out — no need to scrub
A package doesn't need to be spotless to go in the PMD bag. It's enough to remove the contents as thoroughly as reasonably possible before you throw it away.
- How to empty the trickiest packaging
Squeeze out toothpaste tubes, sauce bottles and mayonnaise tubes properly. Scrape food residue out of aluminium trays and plastic tubs. Let drink cartons drain completely, and remove large food residues from yoghurt pots or butter tubs.
- "A small leftover doesn't make a difference" — or does it?
A small leftover usually isn't a problem, but a half-full package can genuinely disrupt the recycling process. And sorting alone is no guarantee: the quality of what you hand over also determines whether recycling actually succeeds.
A small effort, a big impact
Packaging that's properly emptied is more likely to be successfully recycled into new raw materials. That means we need fewer new raw materials and shrink our ecological footprint. A more efficient recycling process also helps keep costs down and strengthens the circular economy.
When in doubt, check
Not sure whether a package is empty enough, or where it belongs?
→ Check it on Bettersorting.be
→ Or use the Recycle! app
It only takes a few seconds to avoid mistakes.
