# Recalls and the garbage can

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recalls-and-the-garbage-can/439468>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 28, 2008, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recalls-and-the-garbage-can/439468 "2008-02-28T03:12:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![koawala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bb73d2/32.png) [@koawala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koawala)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recalls-and-the-garbage-can/439468/1 "2008-02-28T03:12:47Z")

</div>

What happens to all that recalled meat- does it just get thrown into a landfill or do they make hot dogs out of it? 😉 How do you get rid of tainted meat? And what happened to all those toys that have lead paint? I assume that they cannot be tossed in the trash. Do they remove the lead paint- unleaded toys?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recalls-and-the-garbage-can/439468/2 "2008-02-28T03:56:50Z")

</div>

Once meat is bad, it rarely gets any better. It’ll make a nice compost pile somewhere.

I’ve heard that in the current beef recall, most of the meat concerned has already been eaten, though.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recalls-and-the-garbage-can/439468/3 "2008-02-28T13:34:48Z")

</div>

[QUOTE=friedo]  
I’ve heard that in the current beef recall, most of the meat concerned has already been eaten, though.  
[/QUOTE]  
Which puts it at sewage treatment plants all over the country.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recalls-and-the-garbage-can/439468/4 "2008-02-28T15:22:56Z")

</div>

There was a new story here a couple days ago showing several truck loads being dumped into the landfill.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recalls-and-the-garbage-can/439468/5 "2008-02-28T15:44:43Z")

</div>

[QUOTE=friedo]  
It’ll make a nice compost pile somewhere.  
[/QUOTE]  
[Composting for Meat Processors](http://ecm.ncms.org/ERI/Meat/howtocompost.htm)

> [@](#):
>
> Meat is said to be slower to break down than typical vegetable matter, so the following estimates are based on conservative assumptions.
> 
> Under ideal conditions, it is possible to compost some materials is a little as 2 - 3 months. But if you are primarily in the meat processing, rather than the composting business, there is likely to be a limit to the amount of money and work you will want to invest in your composting operation. It seems reasonable to allow a full year for the complete cycle from freshly generated waste to finished compost ready for land application.  
> …  
> A ton of meat waste by itself will occupy about 1.2 - 1.5 cubic yards. With bulking agent mixed in, a newly mixed pile will occupy about 5 cubic yards for each ton of meat waste. (It will gradually lose volume as the material breaks down.)
> 
> If you are using windrows that are two square yards in cross section, you should therefore allow at least 2.5 linear yards, or about 8 feet of windrow length per ton of meat to be composted.