Recycling Small Appliances

Heya Jacob,

I’m trying to figure out how to get rid of some of small, non-functioning appliances for my partner. She doesn’t want anything to end up in a landfill, which I understand and applaud, but there’s gotta be a solution. I know in Cali, there are places that will try to fix and then give away, and if that’s not possible, will strip and make sure whatever is recycleable will be handled properly, but I can’t seem to find anything comparable in either Detroit or Ann Arbor.  I’ve also called a few scrap dealers but they deal in bulk and with bigger, commercial equipment. I’ll keep hunting around, but I thought you might have an idea….

– L in Detroit

For working appliances there area a lot of options now, but for broken appliances… well, small appliances can be a challenge. Here’s what I can suggest for now:

Some big box stores have extensive recycling programs now. For example, Best Buy takes a lot of things. Go here for a nice list of what they will and won’t take.

But some things, like toaster ovens or blenders, are still on their “no” list.

You might try Goodwill, which will sometimes take broken materials and fix them.

Otherwise, the best advice I’ve heard is to look up appliance repair shops and contact them to see if they want it for parts.

I hope this helps. Let us know what you find out!