Mindy, a mother, is frustrated with her 21-year-old son Jasper's habit of leaving the last bit of ketchup, shampoo, face cream, cereal, and bread in containers, forcing her to clean and recycle them. Jasper, however, argues that he simply prefers fresh products and doesn't see the issue. The dispute, featured in The Guardian's "You be the judge" series, asks readers to decide whether Jasper should finish items before opening new ones.
The prosecution: Mindy's case
Mindy accuses Jasper of being wasteful and lazy, stating, "Opening new products when old ones aren’t empty is wasteful – and he does it to avoid cleaning up." She explains that Jasper leaves tiny amounts in bottles and jars throughout the house, believing he's doing his parents a favor. "Jasper thinks that by not finishing off the last of something he is doing me and his father, Dave, a favour," she says, but she finds it annoying because she ends up washing and recycling the containers.
At dinner, Jasper will take a new bottle of sauce from the fridge rather than use the one with a small amount left. He does the same with cereal, leaving crumbs in the bottom of the box, and he leaves the heel of the bread. Mindy has tried to explain that leaving such a small amount isn't generous, but she believes "he just likes everything to be fresh and new." She finds the habit wasteful and prefers that he use up the product, rinse the bottle, and recycle it himself.
The defence: Jasper's perspective
Jasper denies being deliberately calculating, saying, "I’m not deliberately leaving tiny amounts of things because I want her to clean up after me. I don’t like using the last bit of something, especially when there’s a new one available." He points out that if there are two bottles of ketchup and one is nearly empty, he'd rather open the full one than struggle to get the last drop out. "It doesn’t make much difference whether we use the last bit or not," he argues.
Jasper admits he likes opening new things, as fresh bread is nicer than the last crust, and he prefers cereal from a new box over crumbs. He acknowledges Mindy's point about clutter, saying, "I could be better at throwing things away and recycling," but he also thinks his mother could stop treating every almost-empty container as evidence of laziness. "Obviously I should clean up after myself, but we all have habits that annoy the people we live with," he concludes.
Jury verdict and reader opinions
The Guardian's reader jury offered mixed opinions. Lois, 31, empathizes with Jasper's need for enough sauce but says he is "shirking the chore." Neil, 34, suggests Mindy could stop buying new products until the old ones are finished, saying, "If there’s no fresh ketchup until the old bottle is washed, he’ll soon learn what’s worth the squeeze." John, 70, sees it as a generational difference but agrees with Mindy that Jasper should dispose of what he finishes. Margaret, 73, asks, "Why doesn’t Jasper recycle them and then open a new pack?" Noa, 32, says Jasper needs to "clean up his act" to reduce household mess and food waste.
An online poll is open for readers to vote on whether Jasper should finish things off and clean up his act, closing on Wednesday 16 September at 9am BST. In last week's poll, 94% of readers said Robin was guilty of letting recycling pile up, while 6% said not guilty.
