Tip #33: Are plastic toys recyclable?
Almost 90% of today’s toys are made of plastic that is not recyclable. But there are options:
- Donate usable toys to a group like Second Chance Toys (secondchancetoys.org); toys will be given to children in need or to a local shelter or transitional home. Or check with your local food pantry. Search for other options at search.earth911.com (enter “toys” and your zip code).
- Purchase nonplastic toys from a company like Big Future Toys (bigfuturetoys.com) or buy toys made from recycled products from groups like Green Toys (greentoys.com).
- Give toys a second (or third) life: Buy and sell gently used toys at Children’s Orchard (childrensorchard.com, Westborough) or Cutie Patooties (ecistores.com/home-cuties.php, Leominster).
For toys at the end of their lives
- Stuffed animals (dry, not moldy) can be put in a textile collection bin.
- Hasbro has partnered with TerraCycle to create a Hasbro toys collection box (terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/hasbro). Or you or your community organization can purchase a Toys Zero Waste Box terracycle.com/en-US/zero_waste_boxes/toys).
Toy packaging
- Mattel has joined How2Recycle and is starting to label toy packaging to explain what packaging can and can’t be recycled.
- Hasbro is working to eliminate plastic packaging by 2022.
This recycling tip is brought to you by the Transfer Station Committee.
Editor’s Note: To gain entry to Harvard’s Transfer Station and empty trash, residents must purchase an $80 sticker. The sticker entitles its holder to dispose of recyclable glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles, and books at no charge. But residents must purchase specially marked bags to dispose of nonrecyclable materials. These are available at the Harvard General Store, Harvard Outdoor Power Equipment, Westward Orchards (June through December), Bolton Orchards in Bolton, Moore’s in Ayer, and Shop ’n Save in Ayer. The Press publishes these weekly tips to help readers reduce the volume of their trash, while increasing the volume they recycle.
