12 Items You CAN Recycle

What do you do with a disposable razor when you’re ready to throw it out? The first thing that comes to mind is probably to throw it in the trash. There are many household items that are thrown away that should actually be recycled. By increasing the amount of items we recycle, we are cutting down on the debris that fill up landfills. Some items you can recycle for cash. For items that you can’t get cash for, you can rest assured you are recycling for a good cause. Plastic and aluminum are popular items at recycle bins, but there are many other items that should be on your list. Here are a list of 12 items you may not know you can recycle:

Shea McLaughlin

Razors - A company called Preserve makes razors from recycled #5 plastic. They will accept razors (and all #5 plastic) through a program called Gimme 5. Whole Foods is a major partner in the initiative and has collection bins in many of their stores.

Packing peanuts- Styrofoam is not typically recyclable. However, many UPS locations will take packing peanuts back and reuse them.

Sports equipment- Your old baseball glove or basketball can get new life when you donate it to the Salvation Army, Goodwill or Play it Again Sports.

Wine Corks- https://recork.org/ takes your old wine corks, and makes new products with the ground down cork! They make everything from yoga blocks to shoes.

Sandwich bags- You can recycle sandwich bags, or basically any type of plastic bags at https://www.plasticfilmrecycling.org/.

Eyeglasses- What do you do with your old eyeglasses when you get a new prescription? Lions Club International collects used eyewear and distributes eyeglasses to low income communities in need.

Carpet- Old rugs and carpet might now be the first thing you think of when it comes to recycling. However, there are many carpet and flooring companies that have recycling programs. Click here to find out more about the program and drop off locations.

Hair dryers- Once you’re hair dryer has hit its limits, you can recycle it by dropping it off at a scrap metal recycling center.

Toothbrushes- The plastic holder and bristles can both be reused and repurposed to make other items.

CDs – These days, CDs are pretty obsolete. However, we all have a pile hanging out in our garage or cars. Don’t throw them in the trash. Recycle them at http://www.cdrecyclingcenter.org/. They even take old DVDs and video games too!

Crayons- Let’s face it. Crayons break or get dull pretty quickly. Instead of throwing out your old ones, you can send them in to Crazy Crayons, which is a national crayon recycling program. Crazy Crayons takes unwanted, broken crayons and recycles them into new crayons that are handcrafted into new shapes. All proceeds support the crayon recycling program.

Old Keys- Everyone has found an old key lying around, and probably has no idea what the key opens/unlocks. Instead of throwing those old keys away, you can help to combat hunger by recycling them! Key for Hope is a nonprofit organization that collects unwanted keys, recycles them, and provides food to those in need from the proceeds. The money acquired through this process is used to purchase food to directly support food pantries.