Things Most People Never Recycle, But Should!

More and more people are recycling these days – which is great! Finding new uses for materials is a crucial part of living sustainably and protecting the planet. However, most people view recycling as being limited to paper, cardboard, cans, and maybe a few plastics. I think one of the most important steps to easing to green is to realize that recycling goes beyond the blue bins. It’s great that you put out recyclables on the street for the trash company to pick up, but living greener means taking it further.

Donating, turning in, and reusing items are great ways to extend the life of something you own. There are many opportunities that people miss to recycle their items and potentially even help someone else in need.

Most likely you are associating donating and reusing items with clothing, which is great; you should definitely consider donating your unwanted clothing. However, I want to give you a list of 13 less commonly recycled items that you can start recycling today, so you can help out even more.

1. Batteries

We go through a lot of batteries these days, and most people are unaware of how to properly dispose of them. Staples, Best Buy, Home Depot, and Lowe’s all have battery recycling programs you can utilize. If none of these are available to you, check Call2Recycle for battery recycling locations nearest you.

2. Appliances

When it comes time to replace your appliances, considering giving your old ones a new life! Goodwill will sometimes take small appliances, and Best Buy will recycle appliances of any size. For other options, check your city’s website for information on recycling programs. I know my city recycles a lot of them for free!

If your new appliance is being delivered, ask the company if they will take you old one for recycling. Some companies will even take multiple appliances for you.

Earth 911 has a great page with information and safety tips on recycling larger appliances.

3. E-waste

Because of the chemicals and lithium batteries used in a large majority of our technology, it is crucial that you do not send these items to a landfill. Leakage of these chemicals can lead to safety and health issues for surrounding areas.

Most items can be recycled at your local Staples or Best Buy. If this is not convenient for you, Waste Management offers electronic recycling kits. They even have opportunities for you to help start an electronics recycling program in your city!

If you are looking to recycle an Apple product, you can easily do so through Apple’s Recycling Program. If you participate, you can even receive credit towards a new phone!

Even your holiday lights can be recycled! Holiday LEDs will take your unwanted holiday lights if you’re willing to ship them in. Coordinate  with your neighbors or friends and send in a bulk shipment together!

Other options for recycling E-Waste:

• GreenDisk
• EPA’s List of E-Waste Recycling Programs

4. Shoes 

Once again, thrift shops are a great place to donate your shoes. To have an even greater impact, you can get a collection box or visit one of the MORE Program‘s locations. They collect athletic shoes, and for every pair donated they plant trees and train farmers in agroforestry!

Soles4Souls is another organization that collects shoes, and they may be more likely to have a drop off location near you. All of their shoes go to those in need in developing countries.

5. Ink Cartridges

With Staples, you can recycle your ink cartridges for free. If you spend enough on ink at one of their locations, you may even earn $2 back in rewards!

6. Plastic Bags

A HUGE portion of plastic bags are never recycled. It’s best to opt for reusable bags, but sometimes after converting you still run into a plastic bag or two. When this happens, don’t recycle them in your curbside bins. Most cities won’t take them. Instead, take them to your local grocery stores. Many will take bags from any store, and some will even take produce bags.

7. Hangers

Thrift stores can receive tons of clothing donations, but they can be hard to handle and make available for customers without hangers. See if your local shop will accept hangers; I’ve found that most of them do.

Even better, check out local homeless shelters. See if they have clothing drives, and ask if they have a need for hangers. Most will gladly take them off your hands.

I found an interesting article on a site called Ditto about hangers in landfills. The numbers are astonishing. If you’re interested, you can even buy some of their eco-friendly hangers, though they aren’t exactly cheap.

8. Crayons

Crazy Crayons has a national recycling program for broken and unwanted crayons. They have lots of ideas on collecting unwanted crayons and how to make the most of them. Can you imagine if all schools did this? They’ve already saved 120,000 pounds of crayons from going into landfills!

They do suggest, though, that you first see if local hospitals, shelters, orphanages, or other organizations need the crayons before sending them in.

9. CFLs

Good for you for using CFLs! Once it burns out, though, you still need a way to dispose of it. Earth 911 allows you to search for locations and schedules for CFL recycling. IKEA and Home Depot both provide CFL recycling programs as well, as does Waste Management.

Because CFLs contain mercury, it is important to properly recycle them and prevent the release of mercury into the atmosphere.

10. Eye Glasses

Whenever you go to trade in your old pair of glasses for a new one, be sure to check with your doctor to see if their office has eyeglass recycling. If they don’t, but you have a Walmart with an eye care center nearby, you can recycle your unwanted glasses there.

Want to be sure your glasses are donated to someone in need? Send them in to New Eyes, and your glasses will be given to an organization that distributes them in developing countries.

If none of this sounds right for you, a simple google search will typically show you the nearest locations that recycle glasses!

11. Bras

If your bra is the wrong size or you just don’t want it (and it’s gently used), send it in to The Bra Recyclers. They also have several drop off locations, so be sure to check if there’s one near you.

Tip: Consider getting some friends and family together and sending all of your bras in at once.

12. Greeting Cards

St. Jude has a program (that’s currently being updated) that allows you to send in greeting cards that will be recycled and given to their patients. If your card doesn’t qualify to be sent in, be sure to recycle it in your normal recycling (Most greeting cards are recycleable.)

13. Miscellaneous

Why do I have a miscellaneous section? Because there are a ton of things that can be recycled. There’s too many to even list. However, I do want to provide a few more sites you can check out that may potentially help you recycle more. These sites may be less likely to provide locations for recycling near you.

• Mattress Recycling Council
• ReCORK
• TerraCycle
• Shingle Recycling
• Play it Again Sports
• No Nonsense
• Berkley Fishing
• Lamb Awards

It’s honestly incredible how much you can recycle!

If this article has overwhelmed you with links and resources, then consider just these two: Goodwill and Earth 911. Check out Goodwill’s donor guidelines to see what you can donate, and search Earth 911 for recycling locations of all kinds near you. They’re both great resources for giving your unwanted items a new life.

If you’ve gained nothing else from this post, I hope it at least helps you realize just how much of what we throw into landfills has the potential to be recycled. Next time you go to throw something out, do some research and consider whether there’s a better place for it. Landfills pollute our air, soil, and water and are an obstacle in saving our planet. I hope after reading this, you see your trash piles grow a little bit smaller.

Is something missing from my list? Comment below what you recycle that you think more people should recycle, too! Or let me know what you’re going to start recycling.