Specialty Recycling

For a printable version, click here.

For a printable donation directory, click here.

Baby Items

Donate useable items, such as strollers, high chairs and car seats, to a local charity or second-hand store, or visit BabyEarth.com to learn about their mail-in program for reuse and recycling. To donate gently used small toys, blankets and clothing, visit Newborns in Need.

Batteries

Purchase a toolkit to recycle your alkaline and rechargeable batteries; visit Battery Solutions for more information. For general information, including drop-off locations and take-back programs, visit our Batteries webpage.

Bicycles

Donate bicycles to Goodwill or the Salvation Army for reuse. Consider Bikes for the World which collects bikes and donates them to less developed countries. If your bike isn't in good condition, contact your local bike store to see if they can use the parts or have a collection program for used bicycles.

Books

Put unwanted books to good use. Visit Second Edition Books for information about their buy-back and donation program. Visit The Book Thing of Baltimore, Inc. for more information about donating books and their free book pick-up program.

Brita Water Filters

Look for "Gimme 5" recycling drop-off locations to recycle used Brita Filters or mail them to Preserve Gimme 5, 823 NYS Rte 13, Cortland, NY 13045. For more information and a location near you, visit preserveproducts.com.

Candles

Millhouse candles accepts any unpainted wax (soywax, beeswax, paraffin, tapers, tea light, jars, pillars, scented or unscented - ALL COLORS). Donations can be mailed to Millhouse Candles, P.O. Box 148, Keedysville, MD 21756-0148 or delivered to a participating event (check events on their website). For more information, visit www.millhousecandles.com.

CFL Light Bulbs

Visit our CFL recycling webpage. Please note that light bulbs, including CFL and incandescent, do not go in your recycling bin. Please put incandescent bulbs in your household trash and refer to the above CFL recycling page for proper disposal of CFL bulbs.

(Artificial) Christmas Trees, Wreaths and Garland

Undecorated artificial trees, wreaths and garland can be recycled at the Alpha Ridge Landfill Convenience Center year-round. Look for the collection area labeled 'Artificial Christmas Trees'. Visit the Alpha Ridge Convenience Center webpage for additional recycling opportunities.

Clothing

Donate wearable clothing to local charities or shelters, such as Goodwill and the Salvation Army. Or bring gently used clothing to the Alpha Ridge Residents' Convenience Center (look for the clothing container on the right side of the Center). Clothing collected at the Convenience Center is donated to the Linwood Children's Center, Inc.

Crayons

Make new crayons by microwaving old crayon stubs in a paper cup for 15-second intervals. The melted crayon blob will harden into a new crazy and colorful crayon! Or visit CrazyCrayons.com to learn more about a mail-in program for old crayons.

Dress Clothes

Dress for Success accepts women's interview-appropriate attire via mail-in or drop-off. Visit www.dressforsuccess.org for more information and their closest drop-off location. To donate men's interview-appropriate attire, contact Million Dollar Man at (410) 493-6395.

Electronic Gadgets

Don't throw electronic items in the trash, recycle or donate them instead. For general information about electronics recycling, click here. Check to see if the company that manufactured the electronic has a program for proper disposal or reuse. Some manufacturers will supply prepaid boxes and a coupon for your next purchase.

Participating Goodwill locations accept computers and computer equipment, visit reconnectpartnership.com for details. Also consider the Sam's Club Trade-in program, the Costco Trade-in program, YouRenew.com or Gazelle.com and you may get a store credit or cash back for your old electronics. Start an electronics collection container at your school, church or community center, visit Greendisk.com. For additional information about computer recycling, visit our Electronics webpage.

Electronic Media (CDs and VHS tapes)

If you have usable VHS tapes, CDs, or DVDs, donate them to your local library or a charity such as Goodwill or Salvation Army. If your tapes and discs can't be used, visit Greendisk.com for more information about their mail-in recycling program. CDs and DVDs can be also be mailed to Back Thru The Future. For more details, visit cdrecyclingforfree.com

Energy Bar Wrappers, Doritos Bags, Juice Pouches

Terracycle collects a variety of wrappers to make handbags, pencil cases and more. Contact your local school or non-profit organization to see if they have a collection program or encourage them to start one. Terracycle will pay $.02 for every wrapper collected. Visit Terracycle.net for more information.

Exercise Videos

Have exercise videos that you no longer use or that you bought and don't like? Get the videos out of storage and swap them on Video Fitness.com.

Eye Glasses

Have eye glasses sitting in a drawer that you can't wear anymore? Donate those glasses so they can be worn by someone who needs them rather than take up drawer space. Check your local eye doctor for collection programs or visit charityguide.org for additional drop-off locations.

Fleece Products

Patagonia's Common Threads Garment Recycling Program collects worn out Patagonia fleece, Polartec fleece clothing (from any maker), Patagonia cotton T-shirts and some additional polyester and nylon 6 products that come with a Common Threads tag. Garments can be mailed to the Patagonia service center or dropped off at a retail location. For more information, visit Patagonia.com.

Food Scraps

Compost items such as banana peels, vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and egg shells to make a nutrient-rich soil. For more information and details about a free compost bin, visit our Home Composting webpage.

Game Consoles

Trade-in your old video games and consoles to get a credit for new items. Consider local game stores or visit EZtradein.com.

Hair and Fur Clippings

Mail your clippings to Matter of Trust and the company will use the hair and fur to make oil spill response booms and mats. For more information, visit matteroftrust.org.

Hangers

Plastic Hangers
Contact your local donation center to see if they need hangers. Reuse is the best option, but tubular, colored hangers can be placed in your curbside recycling container or taken to the Alpha Ridge Landfill Residents' Convenience Center. Please note that clear, acrylic plastic hangers are not currently recyclable in Howard County.

Wire Hangers
Contact your local dry cleaner to see if they will take back wire hangers for reuse. If you can't find anyone to reuse them, group the hangers together, tape them around the neck and at one spot around the bottom and place the hangers in your curbside recycling. Taping the wire hangers allows them to be more easily recycled.

Holiday Lights

Don't want to throw old, not-working incandescent light strings in the trash? Send holiday lights to HolidayLEDS.com for recycling and they will send you a coupon for 15% off. The program is only available until February 2010.

Ink Cartridges

Consider retailers such as Staples, Office Depot, Walgreens and the Post Office for ink cartridge take back programs. Office retailers may offer a coupon in exchange for used cartridges.

Medical and Rehabilitation Equipment

Have crutches or a wheelchair that you no longer need? Donate gently used items to the Loan Closet. Donated items are made available to those who can't afford needed equipment or only require items on a short-term basis. For more information, visit the Loan Closet.

Medication

Please DO NOT flush unwanted medications down the toilet. Instead, place the pills in a plastic zip-top bag with coffee grounds, flour or kitty litter and dispose of the bag in your regular trash. This makes the medicines undesirable and prevents toxins from contaminating our drinking water. For additional information, see Federal Guidelines for Prescription Disposal , FDA Drug Disposal or visit disposemymeds.org. Or, visit rxhealthquotes.com for prescription donation programs.

After you remove personal information, you can recycle your empty medicine bottles.

Paint

Hold a paint swap with neighbors and friends so that usable paint doesn't go to waste. Mix white (or colored) paints together to give your walls or furniture a fresh look. Solidify old and unusable paint by adding an absorbent material such as cat litter, shredded newspaper, leaves, sawdust, dirt or a hardener such as Dispose-A-Paint. If there isn't much paint left in the can, leave the lid off to air dry. Once solidified, the paint can be disposed with your normal household trash, but remember the 40 pound limit for trash containers.

Pots and Pans

Donate usable pots and pans to a local charity, such as Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Unusable pots and pans can be recycled in the scrap metal dumpster at the Alpha Ridge Landfill Residents' Convenience Area.

Sneakers

Nike's ReUSE A SHOE program can turn your old tennis shoes into playground and athletic flooring. If your shoes are usable, consider donating them to organizations such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, or One World Running.

Become a donation site to collect new or gently worn shoes that can be sent to people around the world. For more information, visit Soles4Souls.org.

Solar Lights

Recycle your old solar lights and receive a coupon for your next purchase. Visit YourSolarLink.com for more information.

Sports Equipment

Trade or sell sports equipment at Play It Again Sports. Visit PlayItAgainSports.com for more information and store locations.

Styrofoam Packaging

The Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers (AFPR) will accept styrofoam blocks from packaging. Call (410) 451-8340 for drop-off details. AFPR is located at 1298 Cronson Blvd, Suite 201, Crofton, MD 21114.

Styrofoam Cups

Dart offers Recycla-Paks for purchase to collect and mail the cups, which are recycled into picture frames. Visit dartcontainer.com for more information.

Styrofoam Packing Peanuts

Styrofoam can't be recycled in the Howard County recycling program, so what do you do with styrofoam peanuts? Local packaging retailers may accept the peanuts for reuse. Contact your local retailer such as Mail Boxes Etc, Fedex and UPS. Visit loosefillpackaging.com for a searchable list of drop-off locations or call the Peanut Hotline at 1-800-828-2214.

Tennis Balls

Donate old tennis balls to your local nursing/retirement community. The balls make great caps for the feet of walkers. Or start a collection drive at your school or community and Rebounces will repressurize and resell the tennis balls. Visit Rebounces.com for a prepaid shipping label and more information.

Tyvek Envelopes

To encourage recycling, DuPont started a mail-in collection program for Tyvek envelopes. The envelopes can be recycled into plastic lumber benches and playground equipment. Visit the Tyvek website for more information.

Yoga Mats

Send your used yoga mats to The Bolder Mat Company and receive a $5 coupon for a new mat or accessory. The company will refurbish and donate the mat to a charity that teaches at-risk populations about the benefits of yoga.
Visit theboldermatcompany.com for more information.

Swap Sites

Check out swap sites, such as swapbabygoods.com and craigslist.org to list good items (for sale or for free) that you no longer want.

The Baltimore FREE Store

This 'store' accepts usable items for donation, including clothing, household items, small furniture and shoes. Most items will then be offered for free to promote reuse. For more details, visit www.baltimorefreestore.org or call (410) 340-9004.

For a donation directory, visit mdrecycles.org.

This information is provided as a service to residents.
Howard County does not endorse products, services or vendors.