Why Correct Punctuation is Important

[prosodic]

I just emptied a bottle of bleach. As I was carrying the bottle out to the recycle bin, I saw this warning:

"Do not re-use empty container, offer empty container to recycling or throw in the trash."

Which can be interpreted as:

Do not re-use empty container.
And also, do not recycle container or throw it in the trash.

(In which case, how would you dispose of it?)

But probably means:

Do not re-use empty container.
Offer empty container to recycling or throw in the trash.

So...a period or semicolon should've been there instead of a comma. Then it would make sense.

I'll just go with the recycle symbol on the bottom of the bottle.