From what I've seen, recycling centers can be picky about mixed materials—especially faucets with plastic or rubber bits. Honestly, might save yourself the hassle and just scrap the obvious metal parts separately. That's what I ended up doing last summer...
Hmm, interesting point—but have you checked with local salvage yards instead of recycling centers? I've found that some salvage places aren't as picky about mixed materials, especially if the fixtures are vintage or have unique designs. Last year, I took a bunch of old faucets and valves to a salvage yard nearby, and they were surprisingly happy to take them off my hands. Might be worth a shot before you start dismantling everything...?
"I've found that some salvage places aren't as picky about mixed materials, especially if the fixtures are vintage or have unique designs."
Yeah, that's been my experience too. A while back I had a customer with these old brass fixtures—really ornate stuff from the 1920s. Recycling centers weren't interested because of mixed metals and coatings, but the salvage yard practically jumped at them. They even paid a bit for them, which surprised me. Definitely worth checking out before you start pulling everything apart...might save yourself some hassle.
I've run into similar issues with old plumbing fixtures. Had a rental property with these heavy cast iron sinks and some vintage faucets mixed with porcelain handles. Recycling center wouldn't even look twice at them because of the mixed materials. But like you guys mentioned...
"the salvage yard practically jumped at them."
Same story here. They took everything off my hands, no fuss, and even gave me a few bucks. Saved me a weekend of messing around trying to separate everything. Definitely worth calling around first.
Saved me a weekend of messing around trying to separate everything. Definitely worth calling around first.
You got lucky with the salvage yard—mine wouldn't touch fixtures with porcelain handles. Ended up listing them online as vintage pieces, and surprisingly, collectors snapped them up quick. Sometimes recycling isn't the only route...
