Honestly, sometimes it's just not worth the hassle to separate everything yourself. I've had better luck donating old fixtures to Habitat ReStores—they'll take mixed-material stuff, and at least someone else might get some use out of it instead of it ending up in the landfill.
Donating is great, but recycling fixtures isn't always as complicated as it sounds. A few points from my own experience:
- Local scrap yards often take mixed metals without needing you to separate everything perfectly. I've dropped off old copper pipes and faucets before—got a bit of cash back too.
- Some recycling centers have special drop-off days for construction materials. Worth checking your city's website.
- Donating is good, but if something's really worn out or damaged, recycling might be the better call.
Just another angle to consider...
Agree with most of this, especially the scrap yard bit.
"Local scrap yards often take mixed metals without needing you to separate everything perfectly."
But heads up—some places get picky about faucets with plastic parts still attached. Had a yard once refuse a batch until I stripped them down...bit of a hassle tbh.
Haha, yeah, been there with the faucets. Last summer I redid our bathroom and ended up with a pile of old fixtures—pipes, faucets, showerheads, you name it. Thought I'd be smart and just toss everything into a big bin and haul it off to the scrap yard. Easy money, right?
Well...turns out my local yard was pretty chill about mixed metals but super picky about plastic bits too. The guy took one look at my bin and said something like, "Buddy, you gotta strip those faucets down or no deal." So there I was, sweating in the parking lot, prying off plastic knobs and washers with a screwdriver I luckily had in the glovebox. Felt like a DIY nightmare episode.
"Had a yard once refuse a batch until I stripped them down...bit of a hassle tbh."
Definitely relate to this. Lesson learned: always double-check your yard's rules before you load up the car. Or at least keep a toolbox handy for emergency faucet surgery...
Honestly, I've found scrap yards to be more trouble than they're worth sometimes. Last reno, instead of hauling everything off, I just listed the old fixtures online as a free curbside pickup. They were gone within hours—no stripping plastic bits or sweating in parking lots required. Sure, no cash earned, but saved me a headache.
"Buddy, you gotta strip those faucets down or no deal."
Maybe skipping the yard altogether is the real easy money move?
