We only have one planet, and recycling is incredibly important if we want to keep it safe. Fortunately, we’ve advanced so much as a civilization that we can recycle almost anything. People often wonder the same thing about their kitchen appliances, computers, TVs, etc. So, the question is, can blenders be recycled?
Yes, blenders can be recycled. Most small kitchen appliances are built to last a long time. These appliances are mostly made up of useful metals and materials that are easy to recycle. So it would be irresponsible to throw away blenders in the regular trash, as they can be recycled and reused.
Many appliances similar to blenders can also be recycled. Most companies that produce these kinds of appliances emphasize environmental health and are completely focused on making these appliances as recyclable as possible. So it’s usually easy to recycle them. Let’s now see if blenders can be recycled, where should you throw away your blender, and hot to scrape your blender. Let’s get started!
Why Can Blenders Be Recycled?
Steel makes up about 75% of the average appliance in the US, and it’s by far the most recycled material in the US.
About 10% of all steel recycled yearly in the US comes from home appliances.
Blenders are also usually made from steel. So they are easy to recycle.
Moreover, appliances that carry computer chips, like microwaves and blenders, contain expensive metals like gold or copper (usually on the wiring).
So it makes perfect sense to recycle them.
Before you recycle, you should keep your blender unplugged for a few days before you turn it in, just to let it cool down.
If the power cord is long, tape it to the appliance. You don’t want to trip and hurt yourself over a useless kitchen appliance.
If the blender isn’t completely used up and can still function properly, consider donating it to charity (do clean it beforehand).
Also, your blender most likely has parts that aren’t made of metal.
Your blender’s jar is most likely some sort of glass or plastic. So remove them prior to recycling.
Related Further Reading:
- Do Deep Fryers Have an Odor?
- Keeping Your Rice Cooker Running All Day or Overnight: What Are the Risks?
- Keeping Your Kitchen Safe: Preventing Explosions in Deep Fryers
- Does Operating a Rice Cooker Pose the Risk of an Explosion or Fire?
Where Should You Throw Away Your Blender?
You have several options at your disposal to recycle your blender.
One option is to send it to the Hamilton Beach Recycle Program.
This program is something that deserves much more attention than it actually gets.
This program lets you send any non-working products made by this company to a particular address where they can be recycled.
There is no charge for this program. However, you will need to bear the shipping cost.
This company sells literally every kitchen appliance in existence, and they’re very famous for their recycling efforts.
If you’re looking to recycle, buy their products, they’ll recycle them for free.
Secondly, you use a recycling depot.
It’s highly unlikely that your neighborhood bin has a sign saying ‘Kitchen Appliances and Electronics’, so you can’t exactly just put your blender in a bin.
You should just put your glass container/jar in the glass bin and take everything else to the depot.
Every city has a recycling depot where you can get rid of old televisions, kitchen appliances, computers, and other types of electronics and machinery.
A quick online search will point you in the right direction. This is by far the best method for getting rid of old appliances the right way.
These depots have the necessary equipment and processes to recycle batteries, power cords, and all kinds of other electronics.
If you want to make the job easier on them, you can take the blender apart (make sure you don’t hurt yourself), separating the plastic, metal, wiring, and isolating the electronic components.
Unfortunately, not all towns (usually the smaller ones) have recycling depots.
If this is the case, you should look into local non-profit organizations, companies, police stations, fire stations, and schools as well.
They often have their own recycling events, and they’ll usually accept any kind of recycling product, be it a kitchen appliance or massive amounts of paper.
Alternatively, you can try to reuse the appliance.
Not everything should be thrown away just because you can’t find a use for it.
You can always clean your appliance and give it away to charity, sell it on a garage sale, etc.
Even if your blender is super old, there’s definitely a thrift shop that will be happy to take your blender and sell it.
Interesting Further Reading:
- Solving the Mystery of Why Blenders Leak
- The Advantages and Disadvantages Of Replacing A Mixer With A Blender
- Do Microwave Ovens Need A Turntable? (Pros And Cons)
- Understanding the Prolonged Cooking Period of Rice in a Rice Cooker
How To Scrap A Blender?
If you think that you might reuse some of the parts of your blender, or if you just want to make the life of the workers at the recycling plant easier, you probably want to scrap your blender.
This is fairly easy to do.
Firstly, you will need flat nose pliers, cutting pliers, a Phillips screwdriver, and a flat nose screwdriver.
Obviously, make sure that the appliance isn’t plugged in. Otherwise, you might not like what’s coming next.
Then, you need to open the casing of the blender.
You’ll need to unscrew the two screws at the bottom of the blender and a tab located near the power cord.
One of the two screwdrivers will get the job done.
Following that, you’ll want to remove the internals.
Use the cutting pliers to cut the power cord from the motor and the switch.
Many blenders have more than a single screw holding the motor in place.
Remove the screw(s), and you’ll be taking the motor out next.
To remove the motor, pull it out with pliers. This should be enough unless corrosion has kicked in.
In that case, you’ll have to break the motor out by force.
To extract the copper wires, you’ll cut them away from the motor at the end.
This way, you won’t ruin them. Disassemble the motor and take out the parts.
Now, all that’s left to do is to cut the wiring and store the parts.
