Household Items You Didn’t Know You Could Recycle

While we are very used to recycling milk cartons, yogurt tubs and glass bottles, there are a host of things in your home that you perhaps didn’t know that you can recycle, especially as you undertake a junk cleanout. Read below about some of the things that you can recycle and put to good use instead of tossing. 

1. Mattresses
While it’s tempting to toss out an old mattress that doesn’t serve your back or get you any sleep, they don’t break down in landfills. Mattress recycling centers will take your old mattress and in some cases, donate it to charity. Environmentally Conscious Recycling is a local recycling center in the Portland Metro area that will take old mattresses.

2. Light Bulbs and Christmas Lights
Light Bulbs can leak toxic chemicals into the environment when sitting in a landfill and take forever to break down. Find a local drop off center that can properly dispose of your old light bulbs.

3. Crayons
Teachers and parents alike all have that box of broken, shredded and unused crayons. Companies like Crazy Crayons will take your old crayons and recycle them into new products!

4. Batteries
Even rechargeable batteries don’t last forever. Lowes and Home Depot will accept old batteries, even the rechargeable ones, just by dropping them off. And remember to always recycle your old car batteries (most of us know that -- car batteries are one of the most well recycled items!)

5. Eyeglasses
Not only do styles change and you want different frames, but our prescriptions can change over time too. But your eyeglasses are still usable! The Lion’s Club can help you donate or recycle old eyeglasses, especially to those in need.

6. Cell Phones
Cell phones can take up to 1000 years to biodegrade in a landfill. There are a host of nonprofits and retailers that will take your old cell phones (and other electronic waste, like old computers, ink cartridges, and calculators and printers!)

7. Magazines
A lot of us throw out magazines when we are finished reading them, which is a perfectly acceptable option. However, many of us are unaware that local libraries will take old magazines, as will many nonprofits, residential treatment centers, and even used bookstores like Tidal Wave books in the Portland Metro area. Spread the love and share your reading!

8. Disposable Razors
Many of us toss or recycle our old disposable razor cartridges, but we often don’t think about the dangers those pose to the people working in recycling and waste centers. Many people are responsible for sorting our trash and recycling, and it can be dangerous to sift through people’s old razors. Scrap metal centers will often accept old razors in order to properly dispose of them.

9. Carpet
Far much too carpet ends up in landfills every year, which is difficult to break down. It’s tempting to toss old carpet after a remodeling project, but places like Carpet America Recovery Effort will take old carpet in order to keep it from ending up in the landfill (which is topping out at 5 billion pounds a year!)

10. Keys 
Once you’ve changed the locks and no longer need the key, you don’t have to toss the key. In fact, donating it to a scrap metal center can also ensure that your old keys are properly destroyed -- your safety and privacy AND good recycling practices can go together. 

Original content here.


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