I open the Recycler module. I empty the Recycler (eg 30MB worth of files). I exit the Recycler. The module still shows there are 30 MB in the Recycler.

Could be an occasional glitch, I just tried it here and it worked (the Recycle Bin isn't 'polled' regularly in the traditional sense, as this would kill performance on systems with lots of files in the Recycle Bins - instead a shell notification hook is used for changes in the Recycler folders).

Can you reproduce the problem 100% of the time?

No! Just tried it again & it behaved properly. Cheers...