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Getting Rid Of Your Old Lawnmowers and Landscaping Equipment

Posted by Junk King on Aug 28, 2018 3:09:00 PM
With summer fully upon us, many homeowners find they either need new lawn maintenance equipment, or still have old items lying around. So, what should you do with the old stuff?

Lawnmowers and Landscaping img

 If you still have an old lawn mower, trimmer or other unused landscaping tools taking up space in your shed or garage, it's time to consider their fate. However, when it comes to broken or obsolete lawn mowers and other landscaping tools, you may find that getting rid of them can be difficult.

They are too large for the household garbage bin and too dirty and awkward to fit in the family care for a trip to the dump. You might succeed in selling them in a yard sale, but you might have better luck simply giving them to a neighbor.

If anyone will take them, that is.

Disposing of Lawnmowers and Landscaping Equipment

Although your mower and other equipment may have lasted for years, at some point, they either broke down or you upgraded to something bigger and better. Or, better yet, you finally decided to get out of the mowing business and hired a professional lawn care firm.

Regardless of your reasons, if you still have your old equipment then that means they are taking up storage space or, worse yet, sitting out in the elements and being nothing more than an eyesore and a potential safety hazard.

So, the question to ask is, "How do I get rid of my old lawn mower or (name the tool)?"

Throwing them away is not a good option. Aside from being too big for the trash bin, they likely have fuel and oil residue in them which are considered hazardous substances. And besides, even you could simply throw them out with the trash, you'd be missing out on an opportunity to do good and make good.

The truth is that there are several disposal options for lawn care and landscaping tools that are still in working condition.

Lawn Mower and Lawn Tool Disposal Options

Deciding to get rid of your old equipment means figuring out a good way to do so. And it can be a bit of a challenge. Not everyone has a vehicle suitable for taking these items to the local landfill, assuming there is one, and we've already determined that you can't toss them out with the trash. But there are options!

Here are a few that you can be rid of your old tools and provide a new home for them:

Sell the Tools

A great way to get rid of those old tools and make a bit of money is to place them in your next garage or yard sale. You can also go digital and sell your used equipment online using sites like Craigslist and others. Remember to clean them up and take good photos for prospective buyers.

Donate Them

If your old lawn mower or hedge trimmer is still working, you can always drop them off at a local donation center. This option is great because reusing tools is more environmentally friendly than disposing of them. In addition, you help a good cause while providing an affordable tool for someone who needs it.

Give Them Away

Do you have neighbors who need good tools but doesn't have the means or ability to buy them? You help them and yourself if you can "gift" those individuals with a well-maintained and usable lawn mower or leaf blower. If you prefer, you can ask around for someone elderly with a need.

What If You Have Unusable Equipment?

You can even make some money from your old, but unusable, landscaping tools. Regardless of whether you have an edger, weed trimmer, leaf blower, snow blower, hedge clippers, or a lawnmower, they all have materials in them that can be sold for scrap.

The fact is, you might be able to sell these items to a scrap metal dealer. According to a post on Scrap Metal Junkie, scrap metal buyers are one option because old lawn mowers and small engines are a great source of scrap aluminum and steel.

However, small engine mechanics can be far better sources for selling your old powered equipment, even if they aren't working. Oftentimes you can get two or three times more money by selling a lawn mower for parts than if you sold it to a scrap yard.

If you are handy with tools, you might want to break down and dismantle your old equipment yourself as you get even more money for the individual materials than for the whole unit. If you do, here are some simple steps you can follow:

Separate the Ferrous Metals

Completely dismantle and clean the unit then use a magnet on all the metal parts to find and separate the ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The magnet will stick to ferrous metals, which contain iron, but not to aluminum. This is good to know since aluminum is worth more money as scrap.

Separate the Non-ferrous Metals

Your non-ferrous metals will have two piles: one for clean aluminum-only pieces and another for any dirty engine parts or those with other metal attached. The second category is known as "aluminum breakage" and offers a little lower price.

Separate the Non-metals

Most of the plastic pieces can be placed in your curbside recycling bin. You should look for the recycling symbol on these pieces to see they can be recycled in your area. If you're not sure, you can just add them to your household trash bin. Rubber tires, tubing and cable sleeves can usually be taken to a recycling center.

By the way, while they're not exactly landscaping tools, even your old barbecues can be dismantled and recycled!

If you choose to sell your old equipment and tools as scrap metal keep in mind how scrap is purchased by the scrap metal reclamation companies.

Typically, scrap yards accept any quantity of metals for recycling, but what you will be paid is determined by the weight of each type of metal. For example, if you only have a few pieces of metal, they will still recycle it for you, but you’ll most likely receive little if any payout for your metals.

We Can Take Your Old Equipment for Recycling

At Junk King we offer appliance disposal and recycling for all kinds of landscaping equipment. Providing junk removal for recycling tools like lawn mowers allows us to take that burden off your shoulders.

And we even go a step farther with our scrap metal pick up.

Clear out that space in your garage! Stop old lawn equipment from rusting away in your yard! Call the junk removal pros and we will pick it up!

Junk King recycles more than half of the garbage we collect by hauling it off in our specialized trucks (many of which run on biodiesel), then separating it by material and sending everything to local recycling facilities. In some locations, Junk King even has its own recycling centers.

Make an appointment and we’ll provide an upfront estimate with no strings attached. Just show us the lawnmower and landscaping equipment and any other trash you want disposed of, and we quote you based on the volume of space the junk takes up in our truck. Our crews our not only efficient and friendly, but they are fast, as well!

We’ll take your old or broken landscaping equipment off your hands and make sure it gets recycled or disposed of responsibly. Just give us a ring at 1.888.888.JUNK (5865).

Topics: junk hauling, landscaping, metal recycling, old lawnmowers, lawnmower removal

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