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How To Recycle Your Old Sex Toys & Dispose Of Broken Vibrators

9 June, 2021

How To Recycle Your Old Sex Toys & Dispose Of Broken Vibrators

Ready to declutter and unburden yourself from any belongings which don’t spark joy? For ‘belongings’ read sex toys, and for ‘joy’ read orgasms. Today I want to discuss how to recycle your old sex toys, and the correct way to dispose of broken vibrators.

In a world which is slowly realising the importance of taking care of our planet, it’s important that we all do our part. That said, it’s understandable that many people don’t feel comfortable taking their old vibrators and other sex toys to a recycling centre as these are private, intimate use items and it’s natural to want to avoid any embarrassment. It isn’t fair for our pleasure tools to contribute towards the growing mountains of landfill and the environmental problems this causes, though.

70% of all toxic waste is from electronic refuse; these items can contain mercury, lead, arsenic and other nasties. These toxic chemicals can seep into soil and water, creating hazardous conditions for wildlife and to the environment in general.

Remember: reduce, re-use, recycle. You recycle your paper, cans, plastic –why not do your best to recycle your old sex toys?

What You Can Recycle, And How

When it comes to recycling sex toys, it’s usually the vibrating type which are able to be recycled -those with an electrical motor. During my research for this article I found it very difficult to obtain any useful information on recycling non-vibrating toys such as dildos and static butt plugs. Unfortunately, a lot of static jelly dildos and butt plugs still end up in landfill for the time being.

Here’s a brief guide to what you can recycle, and how, when it comes to your adult products:

Vibrators

These fall under WEEE (Waste Electrical & Environmental Equipment) as they have a motor, so they can be recycled as electrical equipment or sent to adult retailers who accept vibrators under their recycling schemes.

Rubber, Jelly and/or TPE Toys

We know you’re keen to recycle old sex toys, but sadly these types still go to landfill.

Metal Toys

These can be recycled but might not be collected with your household recycling, so your best bet is to take them to your local recycling centre yourself.

Glass Toys

Glass sex toys are made from borosilicate glass (Pyrex) which is heat treated for strength and safety. This process sadly means they can’t go in your glass recycling as it renders them non-recyclable compared to typical glass items, so they unfortunately go to landfill.

Silicone Toys

Silicone is recyclable, but not at every recycling centre, so you will need to research where you can take your silicone toys.

Plastic Toys & Accessories

Most plastic can be recycled by your usual household recycling methods –as long as it’s not black plastic.

Black Plastic

Black plastics can’t be processed by the plastic recycling equipment, so they go to landfill.

Fabrics (Lingerie/Clothing/Restraints)

You can recycle fabric through your usual fabric recycling methods.

Condoms

Not recyclable, and don’t flush them either! Dispose of condoms with your usual household waste.

Liquids (Lubes/Massage Oils)

Make sure you use the liquid inside the bottle, then recycle the bottle itself in the usual way depending on whether it’s plastic or glass. Remove any labels first if you want to ensure discretion.

Disposing Of Old Or Broken Vibrators

As previously mentioned, it is incredibly un-environmentally friendly to dispose of your old or broken vibrators in with your usual household waste, where they’ll end up contributing to landfill. The motors, other electrical components and outer material can leak, damaging wildlife and contaminating water & soil. So, how do you go about disposing of your old or broken vibrators in a planet-friendly manner?

In The UK

Lovehoney UK used to run the famous Rabbit Amnesty Scheme, which is now simply a recycling project. Although Lovehoney are no longer offering loyalty points when you recycle old sex toys through their program, and you have to pay the postage to send your old vibrators to them, it’s still worth considering if you want to play your eco-friendly part.

It’s worth remembering that Lovehoney will only accept toys with a motor, so don’t send any non-vibrating or non-electrical items. I’d hope everyone would do this anyway, but: please thoroughly clean the old vibrators before sending them in!

Send to: Lovehoney Recycling, 100 Locksbrook Road, Bath, BA1 3EN, United Kingdom.

Lovehoney can also accept old batteries for recycling, but not through the post. You need to take them in person.

Alternatively, you could take any electrical items such as vibrators to a local recycling centre. According to UK law, any adult products which vibrate or oscillate are considered electrical items. This means that they are treated just like other electrical waste like toasters, kettles, cameras, items which required a charger etc.

You can get plenty of information about WEEE (Waste Electrical & Environmental Equipment) recycling, as well as locate your local recycling centre and discover their specific guidelines, at recyclenow.com.

In The USA

I haven’t been able to find a lot of information regarding recycling sex toys in the US. I’m also not 100% sure how recycling works over there, as I’m based in the UK myself.

Eden Fantasys have a vibrator recycling program, just remember that they don’t accept silicone dildos or condoms.

You can get more United States-based recycling information and locations through this link.

In Canada

Come As You Are is a Canadian sex toy company which was founded in 1997 –and has been voted “Best Sex Shop” in Toronto since 1997, too. They have a very strong eco-friendly focus, and since 2014 Come As You Are have offered a sex toy recycling service to individuals based in Canada.

You can find all the details on this page at the Come As You Are website, including an email address for your Canadian sex toy recycling queries. Remember, this program is only to recycle old sex toys sent from within Canada, and you will need to purchase the relevant shipping label first which you can find here.

Come As You Are offer this recycling scheme despite the fact that it’s costly and “actively loses money” for the business. In an interview with sextech.co.uk, worker-owner Jack Lamon said:

“We have always attempted to balance being purveyors of pleasure with environmental responsibility, and even though sex toys are much more environmentally-friendly now than they were when our co-op was founded in 1997, there’s never been a way to dispose of sex toys safely.

“As an anti-capitalist, co-operative sex shop, we’ve always been uneasy with the negative impacts sexual pleasure consumerism has had on the environment. Although recycling is expensive and labour-intensive, we feel ethically compelled to offer this service to Canadians.”

They currently accept silicone and ABS plastic sex toys as well as recycling vibrators, electronic parts and batteries too.

Recycling Used Batteries

As I’ve already mentioned, you shouldn’t send batteries through the post to recycling programs like the one offered by Lovehoney. So, how can you recycle old batteries?

In the UK, many public service buildings have organised a battery collection point. These may be arranged by libraries, schools or town halls. Lots of shops and supermarkets that sell batteries have a collection bin for old ones. Plus, the council might accept used batteries as part of their recycling services – but it’s best to check with your local council first, to see how it works in your area.

Find your local waste battery recycling facility at www.recyclenow.com.

Selling Your Unwanted Sex Toys

Some may cringe at this, but it is absolutely possible to sell your unwanted sex toys. Not all sex toys are suitable for selling second-hand; it depends on the material they’re made from and if they’re still in good working order.

Solid silicone, glass and genuine stainless steel sex toys are non-porous and can be made 100% sterile by popping them through the dishwasher or boiling for 5-10 minutes. Silicone coated sex toys with electronic parts, such as vibrators, can still be cleaned thoroughly –wash as usual and use anti-bacterial wipes and a sex toy cleaner spray to finish.

Porous material sex toys (jelly, TPR/TPE, PVC) cannot be guaranteed to be 100% sterile and clean no matter how thoroughly you think you’ve cleaned them. Therefore, in my opinion it would be unwise and unethical to try and sell these sex toys second-hand. Dispose of these lower-quality sex toys and invest in some long-lasting, body-safe pleasure tools instead.

Get more information on body-safe/toxic toy materials in my Sex Toy Materials Guide.

Where on earth would you sell second-hand sex toys, though? Many people have success on social media such as Twitter –and there’s a subreddit for selling used sex toys too.

Invest In Long-Lasting Sex Toys

The best way to avoid either recycling or reselling woes is to invest in some brilliant quality, spectacularly effective and long-lasting sex toys.

Buy to keep, rather than impulse buying that £10 bargain-bucket special. It will likely just fizzle out within weeks anyway, leaving you with nothing more than disappointing memories and eco-conscious guilt. Your wallet will feel the difference when you invest in better quality toys too, rather than being lured into the false economy of buying new toys every couple of months because they keep dying or falling apart.

Here are my top choices for long-lasting and orgasmically effective sex toys.