Avid recycler or not, you are probably throwing items away that can and should be recycled. Discover 7 creative recycling ideas here!

Common Things That Can Be Recycled

Household Items That Need a New Home

1. Keys

If you’ve recently switched locks, or have keys stored away somewhere because you don’t remember what they unlock, consider recycling them. The Key for Hope Foundation takes in old keys, turns them into scrap metal and then uses the money to support humanitarian efforts.

2. Trophies

Still have that participation trophy? Instead of sending it to a landfill, donate it to Lamb Awards and Engraving to be recycled. Better yet, if you have matching sets of trophies, they will donate them to a charity in need.

3. Old Tech

Like the name states, Green Disk manages and recycles e-waste. They have plenty of options to send in your recycling, so there’s no need to keep your old desktop from 1999.

Products That Deserve New Life

4. Wine Corks

Wine lovers rejoice! ReCORK is an organization that recycles wine corks into yoga blocks and surfing traction pads. Use their CORKwatch to find out if your favorite bottle uses natural corks before sending any in to be recycled.

5. Denim

Blue Jeans Go Green will recycle your denim and turn it into insulation for homes. So far, they’ve recycled over 1.5 million pieces which is the equivalent of 700 tons diverted from landfills.

6. Eyeglasses

If you stay on trend with eye-wear, you probably have a few pairs of gently used glasses sitting in a drawer just waiting to be thrown away. Instead of adding to the pile, donate eyeglasses to Saving Sight – they collect and distribute used eyeglasses to those in need.

7. Crayons

Rather than tossing out those broken and half-used crayons in the trash at the end of the school year, ship them off to Crazy Crayons. To date they’ve recycled more than 110,000 pounds of crayons into new designs and colorful creations.

We hope you’ve found these 7 surprising recyclable items useful! If you’re looking to get rid of old junk that can’t be recycled call us at Waste Solutions 123 to rent a roll off dumpster! Our 10 yard dumpster rental is perfect for junk removal projects.