9 Household Items You Didn’t Realise You Can Recycle

Having a spring clean? On your way to becoming a minimalist? Before you toss 'em make sure you check that you can't recycle your loved goods.

Running shoes

Yep that's right you can recycle your old pair of smelly gym shoes. You can drop your sneakers off at Soles 4 Souls who donate them to orphanages and other not for profit projects.

Empty cosmetics containers and coffee capsules

Think toothpaste tubes, brushes, old shampoo bottles – give them a good clean and organise a check in with your local Terracycle centre.

Mobile phones (no matter how ancient!)

Sony Centres and Leading Edge Computers take old mobile phones (but no chargers) and the money raised is used by You Can to build youth centres for 15-30 year old cancer suffers.

Bras and swimwear

Uplift Project sends bras and swimwear onto women whom bras are unobtainable or unaffordable.

Old toys

Used plastic children’s toys that are still in a good condition can be recycled with Second Chance Toys.

Batteries

You've probably never noticed (until now) but most ALDI stores around Oz have sustainability bins from Planet Ark for your old battery packs. 

Old prescription glasses and sunglasses

Up for a new set of specs? Give your old pair to OPSM or Personal eyes who will give them to someone in a developing country who can’t afford their own.

Printer cartridges

Drop your old cartridges off at any Officeworks, JB HiFi, Harvey Norman, Dick Smith or Australia Post for recycling.

Wire clothes hangers

Take your excess hangers back to the dry cleaners! They'll put them back to use.

Soft plastics

Think plastic garbage bags, biscuit packets, old pasta bags. All of these “soft plastics” can be recycled at Coles and Woolworths supermarkets. Simply drop them off in the dedicated bins and they are remade into lots of handy items including garden benches for public schools.