So, you've replaced your old appliance and you want to recycle it. What can you do besides typing “appliance recycle near me” in Google?

Some retailers will take your old machine for you, but you are just as likely to be stuck with disposing of it yourself.

And you may have other old appliances still taking up space in your garage or basement. But we all know that moving, loading, hauling and dumping large appliances can be a pain. In fact, it’s often more than most homeowners are willing or able to do so themselves.

So how do you find appliance recycling services nearby?

New Life for Your Old Appliances - Or It’s Parts

If your old appliance has only been used for a few years or so, and is still in good working condition, you might be able to find a new home for it. The good news here is that your used but working appliances may still have value.

One option is selling them. Used appliances are always in demand but, while you could have a garage sale, you’ll probably not get half the original price of your appliance. Unfortunately, this is true even if you opt for online selling sites like Craigslist, or other sites like Nextdoor.com since appliance depreciation is fairly steep.

Fortunately, donating is often a great recourse for finding a new home for your old appliance. Any number of second-hand shops, not-for-profit groups, and church or community thrift stores, would be willing to accept them. Better yet, many of these organizations will pick them up for you. And, if you get a receipt, you can take your donation as a tax deduction.

Another easy way to get rid of an old appliance is to find a local used appliance dealer or even a scrap metal dealer. These firms will either re-sell them or dismantle them to recover the usable parts and recyclable materials.

Getting Rid of Unwanted Appliances - The Right Way

When you need to dispose of your unwanted appliances there are a few things to consider. Along with the junk hauling part of the job, you should consider which appliances you should have recycled.

These would be appliances you can't sell or even donate. Unless you find someone willing to fix them, these appliances have no real potential for re-use. Unfortunately, taking them to your local landfill, may involve restrictions and certain disposal requirements.

Good candidates for appliance recycling are those that are no longer working, those with broken seals and frayed cords, or that overheat or smoke. In addition, there are appliances that have been recalled by their manufacturers

Benefits of Appliance Recycling

When your appliance is no longer a good candidate for selling or donating, the best option is to have your dead or dying appliance disassembled and the materials recycled.

An article at Recyclebank highlights the importance of junk metal recycling:

"Steel is the most recycled material in North America. The metal comes not only from cans but also from construction scraps, automobiles, and appliances, and it can be turned right back into steel that can be used in the same applications.”

Ensuring that your old (dead!) appliance is recycled and the components recovered, is far better than taking them to your local dump, assuming the landfill facility will even take them. But just moving and lifting a washer or dryer is a lot of hard work. In addition, it means having a vehicle that can accommodate them, which is why calling an appliance removal service like Junk King is a good option.

In addition, some appliances such as air conditioning units require special treatment. These contain some form of chemical refrigerant that is usually considered a hazardous material.

Several federal and state regulations require proper disposal of these appliances and you may even need to take them to a specific disposal area, or have a qualified technician remove the coolant. In addition to A/C units, this applies to disposing of refrigerators and freezers.

So, before you push these types of appliances into a landfill, or a dumpster, you should call your local sanitation department to find out if it needs to be prepared before it can be discarded.

Fortunately, there are professional junk removal teams like ours at Junk King that are well trained for this and have the right equipment to do it quickly and efficiently.

The Process of Appliance Recycling

Once you’ve found an appliance recycling facility, or had a firm like Junk King pick it up for you, what happens to your old appliance?

First, any hazardous components will be removed and properly disposed of. The next steps involve dismantling the unit.

Depending on the appliance, recyclers are able -to recover various reusable parts. All the other materials can then be distributed for recycling. This process helps keep metal, plastic, and glass out of landfills and reduces the demand for extracting or producing these materials again.

The appliance recycling process can be profitable for metals recovery firms since most appliances are made primarily of metals. With the recovery of large quantities of steel, aluminum and copper components, recycling is a great approach.

Proper appliance recycling also prevents the release of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl), mercury, and used oils. These are all toxic hazardous wastes and are damaging to humans and the environment. Preventing the release of PCBs also helps reduce ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Junk King - Your Choice for Appliance Recycling

Junk King is proud to be North America’s greenest junk removal service. We pioneered recycling based junk removal in 2005 and have been going greener ever since. We sort each and every job for metals, e-waste, paper, household goods, textiles, furniture and appliances, in our recycling warehouses.

But “going green” also means we donate, re-purpose, and reuse everything we can. We also run many of our trucks run on biodiesel, which is a domestically produced fuel made from more environmentally friendly non-petroleum, renewable resources.

At Junk King, we are committed to leading the way to help keep our planet clean, green and beautiful for the generations to come.

Are you ready to get rid of those old appliances? It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3!

You can make an appointment by booking online above or by calling 1.888.888.JUNK (5865). Our professional and insured junk removal team will come to your home and we’ll call 15 minutes before we arrive on site. Once there we’ll give you a free estimate based on how much room your junk takes up in our truck, with no hidden fees.