Answer: It is very difficult to recycle toys due to the variety of materials used in making them, including plastics, metals, paint, etc. That being said there are some services you can consult such as TerraCycle, your local municipal company, and possibly the manufacturer.

Let’s say you’ve got some old toys that are in rough shape. Your kids are a little older now, and the things are just filling up tubs and taking up space in your basement. Even if you tried to sell them, the amount of money you would make on them would probably not be worth the effort that would go into prepping and packaging them to be sold. So, you have decided that you’re going to try to do what’s best for the planet and get these old things recycled. But how do you go about recycling old toys, especially plastic ones? Its not like you can just toss them into your recycle bin.

Recycling action figures, dolls, handheld games, and toys of all types can be a bit of pain. Its not like recycling a plastic container, which is probably made of only one type of plastic. Most modern toys are different. One toy can be made up of a variety of materials and could be shaped in a manner that makes it unacceptable to recycling companies. This is due to the fact that toys can actually damage equipment at recycling facilities. In short, its hard to find recycling solutions for toys, but I’ll try to give you some options. Hopefully, after reading this, you’ll have a better idea of what you need to do to get those old toys off your hands, without having them contribute to some landfill somewhere.

Who Will Recycle Your Old Toys for You?

TerraCycle is an option that stands out among the others. Recently, TerraCycle has taken the lead in the effort to recycle toys, and toy manufacturers like MEGA Toys and industry giant, Hasbro, have partnered with them. If you use TerrCycle’s Services, they will send you a Zero Waste Box for you to fill with your old toys and ship back to them for recycling. When they get the box of toys, they dismantle them, and make sure that the different materials that make up the toys are reused. They will even take electronic toys, just be sure to follow their guidelines and select the correct service for the specific items you will be sending. Fair warning, for as awesome as TerraCycle is, it is a costly option, and you should make sure you have enough items to recycle to fill the box so that you get the most for you money.

Your local municipal program is possibly another option. If you can find out the type of plastic that the toy is made from, contact them, and see if they will take it. The problem with many plastic toys is that they are made of a mixture of a number of different plastic resins—some that might be accepted, and some that are not. Also, plastic toys tend not to only be made of just plastic. There may be metal screws and pins, paint, and other materials that make up the toy in question that make recycling complicated. Still, if you can determine the type of plastic that your toy is made from by either the stamped plastic code on the toy, on the packaging, or by checking online, it might be worth reaching out to your municipal program and seeing if they will take it.

The manufacturer may have a recycling program. You may need to check their website and social media pages. If you cannot find anything there, consider contacting them and asking if they have any service that would allow you to ship old toys to them for recycling. As I mentioned above, companies such as Hasbro have partnered with TerraCycle.

Does the Material the Toy is Made from Matter?

Yes, depending on what that specific toy is made from, there are going to be different recycling options. This post is mostly covering plastic toys, because that’s what most modern toys are made from, however, there are other materials that were used more frequently in the past like metal and wood, which I will cover briefly in this section.

Plastic. When it comes to toys, we’re mostly talking about plastics. After all, around 90% of all toys produced are made of plastic of some kind or another. Also, keep in mind, by plastic, I don’t just mean one type of plastic. There are numerous types of plastics out there that are used in toy production, and because of this, finding a company that will recycle them is problematic, not to mention, toys tend to be made of plastics that are difficult to recycle.

As I said earlier, to find out what type of plastic the specific toy you have is made from, look at the recycling code (if there is one) and find out if your local municipal company will accept it. If you don’t see any code on the toy, it may be on the packaging (which you probably don’t have). You might need to do some searching online for this one. Once you find out what type of plastic the toy is made from, then contact your local municipal company to see if they will take it. If they won’t, TerraCycle may be your best option for recycling. You could also see if the manufacturer will recycle it, but that may be unlikely.

Electronics. Toys with electronic components are exceptionally tricky. If you can remove the electronic components (screens, circuit boards, wires, etc.), it is possible your local electronic recycler will take them. The rest of the toy is likely made of plastic, and appropriate measure should be taken to recycle that separately along with any batteries. Taking the electronic toys apart may not be necessary if you’re using TerraCycle’s services. They may take the entire thing and handle the deconstruction on their end—you should still take out the batteries before sending it.

Wooden. I would imagine wooden toys are largely a thing of the past, but you may have some old wooden toys that you’re looking to get off your hands and would like to recycle. Unfortunately, in many cases the old toy is probably painted which means its going to be difficult find recycling options. Unpainted wooden toys may be composted. You need to find out if there are any organizations in your area that will do it.

Metal. Again, not exactly common these days, there used to be more toys with metal components on the market—old Transformers figures come to mind. Contact a local scrapyard to see if they will take care of the metal components for you.

What Toys Should be Recycled?

Ultimately, you can choose to attempt to recycle any old toys that you have, but there are some cases in which recycling is the optimal, and possibly only good solution. If the toy is broken, damaged, has missing pieces, or significant wear and tear, selling it might not be worth your time. Donating is possibly not an option either, because thrift stores and donation programs prefer complete toys in good condition. Basically, toys that are broken, damaged, or missing pieces are the best candidates to be recycled. If the toy is in very good condition and has all of its pieces, there are other options you may want to consider.

Donating as a Form of Recycling

As you’re probably aware by this point, recycling old toys can be time consuming and possibly expensive, but there is one kind of recycling that is less time consuming and won’t cost you anything. Donating old toys could definitely be considered a form of recycling. You’re getting them off your hands and they’re being put to good use. When a toy is in good condition, it can likely be donated to thrift stores, churches, preschools, shelters, local charities, and so on. Even if you have some toys with some wear, it might be worth it to see if you can donate it to a local charitable organization.

When donating toys, always make sure that they are nontoxic, cleaned/disinfected, and are not broken in a way that could create choking hazards.

Conclusion:

Millions of plastic toys are produced on a yearly basis, and its difficult to imagine all of them that get thrown into the trash and then into a landfill from year to year. Its really a shame. Before you throw those old toys in your attic into the trash, consider your options. This article predominately focused on recycling them, but you can also try to donate or sell them. Whatever you do, do it responsibly, and try to keep the ecosystem in mind.

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