I am not an avid recycler. Nor am I an avid bicycler (I imagine bicycling in winter would very much be like a lari setempat kind of activity). But whenever the kids’ schools call for contribution in terms of recyclable materials, I get motivated and never miss the opportunity to dump donate. And oh I clean them til they shine, those containers. The last thing I want is my kids coming home from school smelling like sour milk or rotten eggs.
I do, however, re-utilize glass jars. Those tight-lidded peach jars that almost caused me neck and wrist injuries are great for non-returnable tapau containers for Emy (I savoy dinner for her every Tuesday and Friday). Back to recyclable containers; the very first thing I do is to get rid of the labels and price stickers. On glass, they are pretty easy to remove. A knife will do. But on plastic… oii! I have come close to some neck and wrist injuries menyental and menggentel, trying to get rid of them stickers, I tell you. I really have!
But I just learned that the solution is all in my kitchen. Instead of using alcohol/spirit to neutralize the adhesive, I discovered – actually 5 years ago – that cooking oil is the best. If it works on getah nangka, it works on any glue. Trust me! So for these rice milk plastic bottles, I tried using cooking oil last week. But it proved to be a new challenge as the glue was quite stubborn. So I thought maybe some finer agent would help. I spread some flour (in my case the potato starch was the easiest to reach). Guess what? It worked!
There might be others who have discovered this (I have not Googled), but I just did. Before I forget, this post might serve as a reminder for myself. Later.
“… Recycle, that’s what you do.
Recycle, tell your mother too.
Recycle, state your case.
Don’t let it go to waste…”
Glossary for Neil:
tapau [slang in Malaysia]= pack for takeaway
savoy [Russian] = pack for takeaway
getah nangka = jackfruit sap
menyental = scrubbing
menggentel = rolling (but very much irrelevant in this post)
A postnote to Cik Nan:
It has been a while since we talked about ‘Acara Bergentel’ kan Cik Nan?
Questa è Enida 
Alaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, baru je nak…
Enida, thanks so much for the tips. Teruskan tips menggentel pulak lepas ni k. Bukan untuk I, but for Neil heeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Isyyyy Wiz! Jangan cakap kuat-kuat. Neil tak tau menggentel tu apa. Dia orang bujang. Muahahahaha.
Haaa lagi satu Wiz, bila gam tu dah dilumur minyak masak dan ditabur tepung, jangan pulak you gentel buat cekodok or fondant. Bergetah pulak you nanti jadinya. Menangis airmata zam-zam si Azam kang.