I thought you were a tough bloke AD
Wash your fruit and veg if it worries you that much ,
If everything is super hygienic humans will never build up any sort of natural resistance .
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Iām surprised so many Over 50s have become so reliant on plastic packaging and date stamps for fruit and veg.
When I was a kid, I used to go to the greengrocers for my Mum.
Strawberries were sold in punnets, grapes were sold in bunches - there was no such thing as Best Before Dates - we learned to choose our fruit and veg based on how fresh they look.
Now Iām grown up, I still do the same - even if Iām buying strawberries or grapes in a sealed plastic pack, I still look at them closely and donāt buy them if they look past their best, regardless of what any date stamp says.
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Two weeks down here, largely it seems to work, we get two bins, one with a distinctive red lid for recycling and a black top bin for rubbish.
Unfortunately there are those who seem to find the system confusing, I donāt know if itās apathy or sheer laziness. Iāve been faced with some rather strange and unsavoury items when using the red tops as we call them.
It might be worth mentioning that Iām a flat dweller, we have a shared area for rubbish and recycling.
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Not in the least little bit.
Only if you knew how long each item stayed fresh and safe for after being picked.
I mean, I donāt know how long a grape lasts after picking, or an apple, or lemon, or different vegetables? A lot of it depends on temperatures and whether itās been stored correctly as well.
As far as chemicals on food, I wash everything too, but chemicals are not just sprayed on, very little food is grown with natural fertilisers either, not unless you buy organic.
Strawberries are the worst culprit for having chemicals on, because of their absorbent skins. You could probably wash those until the cows come home, but itās been absorbed inside.
At least with things like Bananas, we peel the skins off first.
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I recycle and/or upcycle everything I can.
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In Edinburgh they have giant bins out on the roads for everyone to use. They get removed weekly. Recycling gets done the same way but in separate bins.
In the West here, we have on average 4 or 5 different coloured bins for each bit of recycling or rubbish. You get an email from the council (if you choose to sign up for it) a couple of days before uplift, advising you which bin gets taken out.
I agree. I check everything too. You only need one rotten strawberry or tomato in a pack and it can rapidly spread to the rest, regardless of dates. Dates are only a guide to me, youāve still got you use your eyes as well.
Thatās a shame 
Oh Holy Shit!!!
Now Iāve heard Everything !!!
Beneath Our Dignity!! 
You couldnāt make it up!!
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The only fruit or veg that is packaged here is salad veggies (mixed leaves), bags of spuds, string bags of onions, grapes (just a plastic bag not sealed) and packets of small apples for kids. All the rest is loose, onions and spuds are loose too but the bags are cheaper.
As for recycling, I was only putting out the general waste (red) bin once a month so I changed it for a smaller one and got a reduction in rates. Council doesnāt collect soft plastics but I put that in a plastic bag and when I go shopping bung it in the Planet Ark bin at Woollies.
Australia has been pretty poor at recycling and it took the state government putting a tax on land fill to make councils change their ways. This week the council put bins in the library to collect batteries, light bulbs, fire alarms and mobile phones - better late than never.
Food scraps used to go in the red bin but now go in the green waste bin which is now collected weekly, my green bin rarely goes out because I compost my organic waste anyway - not that I garden it is just a habit.
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I believe that our housekeeper might separate refuse but sheās on holiday with her family at present. In any case thereās nothing wrong with having values and I stand by ours.
Youāve got a HOUSEKEEPER??? 
Is it beneath your dignity to ask her to recycle your refuse?
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Poll.
Do you recycle?
- Cardboard
- Paper
- Glass
- Silver Foil
- Soft Plastic
- Hard Plastic
- Anything else
- No, throw it away and get someone else to do it
0
voters
I voted for throw it out and get someone else to do it. It sounds weird, but in my city, the city recycles from the trash. They say they go through everyoneās trash to recycle stuff. They donāt have recycle bins here. I always thought it was weird to have people rummage through the trash, but thatās how itās been since Iāve lived here.
Yes and a Gardner who happens to be the housekeepers husband. I would not dream of telling either what to do other than in general terms. For example the Gardner has an out of sight parts of the garden on which he grows his own bits and pieces and our housekeeper mostly keeps our place clean and tidy. Very seldom do we ask her to do food preparation any more, we either buy it in ready prepared from the local pub or increasingly the Memshab does it herself. We do increasingly buy frozen meals from Oakwood foods who flog rather good āAirlineā style nosh. Not cheap, but very very good and delivered to the door.
I recycle everything that I possibly can, either by composting or putting in the appropriate recycling bins.
Anything recyclable that the kerbside collection doesnāt accept sits in a corner of my garage to take to the local tip when Iām passing - anything I want rid of that is worn out and isnāt suitable to upcycle or give away goes there - such as anything metal, wood, small electrical items that canāt be mended, fabrics.
I used to take my shredded paper and cardboard there too but they now accept all paper and card in our kerbside collection bin.
There is very little that goes in my general rubbish bin.
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I dont recycle plastic I know I should , just never sure which plastic can be recycled.
I Know it carries a logo but where ā¦guess Iām to lazy to look.
The āAnything Elseā I ticked for garden compost, all fruit and veg waste.
Makes for great potting compost.
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Thatās our recycling list up there.