Do You Crush Empty Cans/Bottles Before Throwing Them Away In The Trash?

[EpicEnergy 23,240]

You drink a soda can and now it's empty, do you crush the soda can with your hand or foot before throwing it away in the trash? What about water bottles, do you crush them as well?

For me, I don't crush my empty soda cans and water bottles anymore because I put them into a recycling bin.

[Lulaypp 2,556]

Dependable. I usually do it to save space our recycle bin (we have one in the house). So there are times when I crush them beforehand and there are time I either forget or am too lazy to do it.

[Pentium100 2,255]

In my country we pay a deposit (0.1EUR) for every bottle or can. The empty can/bottle then can be returned for recycling to get back the 0.1EUR.

Now the stupid part - plastic bottles and cans cannot be damaged or deformed or the machine will not accept them. However, once the machine accepts them, it crushes them itself.

So, no, I do not (intentionally) crush the empty container because I want the 0.1EUR.

 

[Feather Spiral 1,892]

Sometimes I skip it with metal cans cause that sharp edge might injure trash sorting workers (or just cut through the bag) and that's just a dickish thing to let happen.

Other than that, yeah definitely, I try to save up as much space as I can (punintended). In fact, the water (and other drinks) bottles we buy have those ridges to make crumpling easier.

[Lucky Bolt 35,106]

Yes, and I recycle them. 

[Will Guide 21,365]

10 minutes ago, Pentium100 said:

In my country we pay a deposit (0.1EUR) for every bottle or can. The empty can/bottle then can be returned for recycling to get back the 0.1EUR.

Now the stupid part - plastic bottles and cans cannot be damaged or deformed or the machine will not accept them. However, once the machine accepts them, it crushes them itself.

So, no, I do not (intentionally) crush the empty container because I want the 0.1EUR.

 

Sounds counterproductive. You earn back what you pay so no profit is made. Seems pointless since no one is making money to pay for things they need like food and pay off monthly expenses

No for me personally, I just sort the recycling into the gray bin and waste into the black bin. Keep it simple. I still crush the can so it would make a little bit more space in my ice chest at the end of the day as well as in the recycling bin when I have a lot of cardboard boxes to fold up to fit everything in time for Trash Day

[Splashee 28,581]

51 minutes ago, Pentium100 said:

In my country we pay a deposit (0.1EUR) for every bottle or can. The empty can/bottle then can be returned for recycling to get back the 0.1EUR.

Now the stupid part - plastic bottles and cans cannot be damaged or deformed or the machine will not accept them. However, once the machine accepts them, it crushes them itself.

So, no, I do not (intentionally) crush the empty container because I want the 0.1EUR.

 

Exactly the same here in Sweden, only different currency.

The system do work though. When people are irresponsible and throw away their bottles instead of returning them, they are the ones who lose money.

[Pentium100 2,255]

35 minutes ago, Will Guide said:

Seems pointless since no one is making money to pay for things they need like food and pay off monthly expenses

The idea is to make people return the empty containers for recycling instead of throwing them away with the general trash or just anywhere.

If you are too lazy and throw the container away with the general trash (say a public trash bin) or on the ground, someone (a hobo or not) will pick it up and return it, earning the 0.1EUR.

[SparklingSwirls 21,375]

Yeah, sometimes in Germany I see signs/bins that say to deposit your cans or bottles there if you don't feel like taking them back to the store, so other people can take them back and get the money.

I don't crush them and I put them in the recycling bin.

[SharpWit 2,778]

I hang onto bottles and cans until I find somewhere to recycle them, so on occasion I look stupid for carrying an empty one around for half the day.

At home I don't crush them and at my current workplace the bins are emptied daily so I haven't done it here either, plus I have a water bottle and there're water fountains.

At my last work place our garbage and recycling was emptied only once a week, plus we had to bring in packs of water bottles because the location did not have potable water, and the outdoor nature of the work meant that our bottles from home weren't usually enough so we were guaranteed to go through a few of the disposable ones each day. Average 10 workers every day and the bottle amount adds up for limited space, so I would go through and crush them so it wasn't so cumbersome.

[Justin_Case001 4,908]

4 hours ago, FestiveEnergy said:

For me, I don't crush my empty soda cans and water bottles anymore because I put them into a recycling bin.

Oh, thank Celestia.  I was going to come in here and explode my head about throwing cans and bottles in the trash and not the recycling. 

I generally don't crush.

[Early Sunsets 2,108]

Yes, always. In high school marching band we were told to crush our water bottles before throwing them away to save space, so it's become a habit for me because of that.

[DixonTheAdversary 1,634]

Yeah, I crush them so they don't take up as much room in the recycling bin.

[Phosphor 11,535]

I recycle cans, but hardly ever crush them. About once a year, I'll gather up scrap metal from my shop and sell it to a recycler. Nice way to make some cash.  

As for plastic bottles, those go in the trash. There aren't any recycling facilities around here that deal with plastic.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,322]

Not to be preachy, but I know someone that works at a recycle center. They HATE when people crush cans. When the can is pre-crushed, they can't make a big aluminum bale from the cans. It just all falls apart because the cans don't all interlock together as the bale is being formed in the crusher.

[TBD 17,262]

No I do not, like why? I just toss them in the...trash.

Okay hear me out, it's not like you see recycle bins at my home or not as much outside in public let alone at my job place kay? At least it better than littering right? I'd recycle if I see a recycle bin nearby.

[Spacey 748]

When im done drinking a soda i pop off the tab and put it inside of it as if that means i conquered that xD before i throw it away. If i have an empty plastic water bottle then i usually twist it up and pop off the cap for a few seconds of entertainment.

[Clawdeen 16,042]

No I don't crush them.

[Yoshi89 5,293]

Only if there isn't a deposit. I'm not crushing a perfectly good nickel.

[applesjck 5,603]

No, I don’t believe I do crush them.

[Electrified Airstream 18,552]

No I don't throw them in the rubbish, I recycle them.

[RaraLover 10,421]

No. I don't crush them. I just throw them in the bin.

[Mellow Mane 5,931]

I recycle all cans/bottles that can be recycled but if I happen to have a can/bottle that can't be recycled then I crush it to save space

[TheSupremeLeaderOfChaos 1,211]

Nah I don't crush them. I do recycle them when that option is available

[Dreambiscuit 10,590]

When I was young I use to try crushing empty cans but usually ended up hurting my hand. I just toss them in the bin without mangling them (or myself) ahead of time now.