Recycling Appliances: 10 Ideas for Reusing Them

There isn't a single Italian home without appliances , generally the smaller ones but often even the larger ones, that aren't thrown away and forgotten somewhere. And promptly wasted. For two reasons: first, they work, and therefore are still useful. Second, if we really think they're unnecessary, we can easily donate them (just contact the nearest parish in our neighborhood) to those in need. Or we can recycle them, thus valorizing the many raw materials each electrical or electronic appliance contains. Or we can take advantage of the right to repair them if they simply malfunction.

We're talking about air conditioners, dryers, boilers, VCRs, fryers, toasters, and pianos. This is the great waste hidden in Italian homes . Each family has an average of eight abandoned appliances : a wealth of 200 million that could be recycled and turned into a resource. Instead of playing hide-and-seek with appliances, large and small, we could have fun recovering them. With a few creative recycling ideas.

Index of topics

Television

Photo Credit | Facebook Scalvenzi SRL

The old television It needs to be changed, with no way to repair or donate it, but we can transform it into many useful objects: a small dog house, a bookcase, an aquarium. And even a puppet theater.

Refrigerator

Recycling Appliances: 10 Ideas for Repurposing Them

Photo Credit | Facebook Natural Gardens and Creative Recycling

A broken refrigerator , or one we need to replace, can become a spacious planter. A convenient closet for our clothes. Or even a bookcase or a unique living room or kitchen piece.

Washing machine drum

Photo Credit | Facebook Umbria Towards Zero Waste

Even the drum of an old washing machine can be used to make a wide range of useful items for the home or garden. You can use it as a laundry basket, a vase, or a place to store children's toys. Turn it upside down and it becomes a coffee table.

Toaster

Photo Credit | Facebook Animaminima experimental construction site

An old toaster , stripped of its electrical components, can be transformed into a unique vessel. If you line it with a tea towel or, better yet, a fabric bag, it can be used as a container for bread or other foods.

Desktop

Photo Credit | Facebook Eco Design Thinking

The computer , on the other hand, can be creatively recycled in its entirety. The keyboard keys can become earrings, bracelets, or necklaces. The case, on the other hand, can be transformed into a magazine rack. From the screen, you can make a picture frame.

Dishwasher

Photo Credit | Facebook Aunt Anto's Zoo

Even the dishwasher offers numerous creative recycling ideas. For example, it can become a bicycle basket. Its various components can be used as pen cases, closet organizers, vases, or even magazine racks.

Iron

Photo Credit | Facebook Mauro Palmigiani

An old iron , appropriately decorated with decoupage, can become a cute ornament. Or a useful paperweight to place on your study desk. You can also paint the base or use it as a photo frame. Or even as a lamp.

Bakery

Photo Credit | Facebook FraRomano Guided Tours

A broken oven can be converted into a neighborhood library , where books can be shared with neighbors or to promote book-sharing more generally. A wonderful and useful initiative.

Water heater

Photo Credit | Facebook Filippo Tantillo

An old water heater, stripped of its electrical component, can become a beautiful planter or a practical garden or terrace barbecue, for cheerful and tasty barbecues with friends.

squeezer

Photo Credit | Facebook ELETTROSHOP SERVICE SNC

We conclude our review of ideas for creatively recycling household appliances with a juicer . In this case, it abandons its original function to become an interesting table lamp. Place it in your study or office to brighten up your desk.

How to dispose of old appliances

Disposing of household appliances can never be haphazard. We're talking about objects that simultaneously have enormous potential for pollution, at all levels, and conversely contain a large amount of raw materials. For example, a refrigerator alone can contain up to 28 kilograms of iron and 3 kilograms of copper and aluminum. Here 's a very simple and practical guide for properly disposing of any appliance, large or small.

Our homes are full of appliances that, more often than not, we don't use. According to a survey by the Ipsos research institute on behalf of Ecodom, the Italian consortium for the recovery and recycling of household appliances, each family owns an average of 46 appliances : 19 percent, or one in five, remains unused. Domestic life, therefore, also becomes a major source of daily waste.

Recycling household appliances: 10 ideas