Can i recycle non stick cookware

Finding any information on the subject of recycling Teflon cookware has been trying. The only things harder to recycle than Teflon are dentures.

Sand Blasting Teflon While researching this topic, I stumbled across a forum thread about removing Teflon from pans. One commenter came up with this novel solution. From Kelli on Chowhound :. You can look in the Yellow pages and find a business that does sand-blasting and ask them to remove the rest of the Teflon with a walnut shell abrasive.

I have done it a few times, and recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to lose a great pan due to the fact that the Teflon coating is chipping. Do pay heed to the advice about using the walnut shell abrasive, or possibly glass bead. True sand-blasting with actual sand as the abrasive would likely cut far too quickly. What you want is to only remove the non-stick coating, and to remove little or no underlying metal. Once the Teflon is gone, it would just be a steel pan that could be reused or recycled.

If you search far and long enough on the internet for nonstick pan-recycling programs, you? This site no longer exists or is under renovation. Instead, a link to Continental Companies appears. Continental Companies is specialized in "very difficult applications where coating systems are custom designed to allow for some of the fastest turn-around times in the industry.

I called the company. The coating needs to be removed before the pan can be recycled. Some cookware will have no metal component, such as ceramic bowls or Pyrex baking dishes. They cannot be recycled with your glass containers, and putting them in the bin will contaminate your recyclable items.

Pyrex is a type of treated glass that will not melt at the same temperature as glass bottles and jars during the recycling process.

If mixed with container glass, it would make the resulting material unusable. Unfortunately, there are few recycling options at this time for non-container glass. Just like cookware, if the items are still usable, see if you can find them a new home. Originally published on October 11, , this article was updated in January Skip to content.

It is now not appropriate for cooking, and you are thinking of clearing the old pans out. Please do not throw them away yet.

Below we will look at ways you can repurpose them and make them useful. Most people find it hard going camping with their daily functional pans and pots, which is understandable.

That is where these old pans come in handy. If they are still useable for heating food, then keep them with other camping items. Using them when you go for your camps will increase their timeline. Old copperware cookware looks aesthetically pleasing and does not need to be disposed of.

As long as it still looks decent, clean them up, and arrange them in the kitchen. Iron skillets can also be hung over a stove or on the wall and add some pomp in the kitchen. Just make sure the pots or pans have no rough edges that could hurt them. Also, make sure they are not too heavy to avoid any injuries when they carry them. Consider painting it next time during Halloween and use it to hold candy for the trick or treaters. Recycling is when you convert waste material into a new material or object.

For the pots and pans, the ones you cannot even repurpose are the ones you recycle. Remember that they are mostly metallic, and we want to reduce the probability of having to dispose of them completely. For recycling, it would be good to get in touch with a local recycling center near you, and they will be able to direct you on how to recycle them efficiently. If a pan utilizes some non-coating, it will not be recycled with the rest so that the carcinogenic chemical is not spread to the rest.

Another option is TerraCycle, an organization that accepts and repurposes hard to recycle materials that your community recycles center may have refused to take.