Baking Pan Recycling: What You Need To Know

Cooking pots and pans are rarely made purely from recyclable metals and are too large to be recycled through household recycling bins. However, scrap metal yards will accept pots and pans made from steel, copper, aluminium, cast iron and carbon steel for recycling.

Pans made from metal can be recycled at most scrap metal yards

Pans made from ceramics, earthenware and stoneware cannot be recycled. It really doesn’t matter what the pots and pans are made from, steel, copper, aluminium, cast iron and carbon steel cookware can be recycled at most scrap metal yards. They will ensure they are melted, recycled and given another life – these are highly valued commodities and it’s worth getting them recycled.

Pots and pans can not be recycled through household recycling bins mainly because of their size – the equipment in Material Sorting Facilities is not designed to sort through items like this. Also, these items are made from a variety of materials, some of which can pose challenges for traditional recycling facilities. Only pure steel and aluminium can be recycled through household recycling bins. And pots and pans are rarely made purely from these metals. There are variations. Aluminum pans in particular are coated with various substances to make them nonstick. And some are made from layers and layers of different metals (you can’t see it – very thin, unnoticeable layers).

Scrap metal yards will accept damaged pots and pans. Many will claim that you need to know what your pots and pans are made from as that will determine whether or not your item can be recycled. That is true, to the extent that they need to be made mainly of metal. So ceramics, earthenware and stoneware can not be recycled. That aside, it really doesn’t matter what the pots and pans are made from. Steel, copper, aluminium, cast iron and carbon steel cookware can be recycled at most scrap metal yards.

Ceramics, earthenware and stoneware can not be recycled

Ceramics, earthenware and stoneware cannot be recycled. This is because they are not made mainly of metal, which is the only material that can be recycled through household recycling bins. Pots and pans are rarely made purely from steel and aluminium, which are the only metals that can be recycled through household recycling bins.

Scrap metal yards will accept damaged pots and pans made from steel, copper, aluminium, cast iron and carbon steel, which can be melted, recycled and given another life.

Many people claim that you need to know what your pots and pans are made from as that will determine whether or not your item can be recycled. However, it really doesn’t matter what the pots and pans are made from as long as they are made mainly of metal.

The size of pots and pans also means that they cannot be recycled through household recycling bins. The equipment in Material Sorting Facilities is not designed to sort through items like this.

Pans coated with nonstick substances may not be recyclable

Nonstick cookware is a major obstacle to recycling because of the nonstick coating itself. It's generally made of a polymer called polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The metal underneath can be recycled, but this rarely happens because the coating is difficult and costly to remove. Most recycling facilities just don't have the capacity to do that in a cost-effective way.

Many nonstick pans were once made with a product called Teflon, which was made with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and was considered to be a human carcinogen. If you own a nonstick pan that you purchased prior to 2013 (which is when many cookware brands reformulated the type of chemical used in nonstick coatings) and it's starting to flake, you should recycle it. Nowadays, most nonstick pans are made with a non-toxic coating free from PFOA, PFAS, lead, and cadmium. However, if the pan does start to flake, you may want to discard it anyway as the coating could get in your food when you cook with it.

Some scrap metal recycling centers accept these ferrous pots and pans, but a mail-back option is better for nonferrous and non-stick cookware in particular. Made In offers an industry-first mail-back option, where customers send used pans to be buffed and recycled. Made In will accept any pan for recycling, whether it’s a Made In Pan or one from another company. They will either recycle it or help it find a new home via a Habitat for Humanity Restore. And, if it’s time to replace your Non-Stick Cookware, consider Made In for that, too.

Pans made from layers of different metals may not be recyclable

Scrap metal collectors can deal with these issues and ensure pots and pans made from various materials are recycled. Their only condition is that the items need to be made mainly from metal.

Many will claim that you need to know what your pots and pans are made from as that will determine whether or not your item can be recycled. That is true, to the extent that they need to be made mainly of metal. So ceramics, earthenware and stoneware can not be recycled. That aside, it really doesn’t matter what the pots and pans are made from. Steel, copper, aluminium, cast iron and carbon steel cookware can be recycled at most scrap metal yards. They will ensure they are melted, recycled and given another life – these are highly valued commodities and it’s worth getting them recycled.

Pots and pans can not be recycled through household recycling bins mainly because of their size – the equipment in Material Sorting Facilities is not designed to sort through items like this. Also, these items are made from a variety of materials, some of which can pose challenges for traditional recycling facilities.

Only pure steel and aluminium can be recycled through our household recycling bins. And pots and pans are rarely made purely from these metals. There are variations. Aluminum pans in particular are coated with various substances to make them nonstick. And some are made from layers and layers of different metals (you can’t see it – very thin, unnoticeable layers).

Pans are too big to be recycled through household recycling bins

Scrap metal collectors can deal with these issues and ensure pots and pans made from various materials are recycled. Their only condition is that the items need to be made mainly from metal. Ceramics, earthenware and stoneware can not be recycled. That aside, it really doesn’t matter what the pots and pans are made from. Steel, copper, aluminium, cast iron and carbon steel cookware can be recycled at most scrap metal yards. They will ensure they are melted, recycled and given another life – these are highly valued commodities and it’s worth getting them recycled.

Many will claim that you need to know what your pots and pans are made from as that will determine whether or not your item can be recycled. That is true, to the extent that they need to be made mainly of metal. So ceramics, earthenware and stoneware can not be recycled. That aside, it really doesn’t matter what the pots and pans are made from. Steel, copper, aluminium, cast iron and carbon steel cookware can be recycled at most scrap metal yards. They will ensure they are melted, recycled and given another life – these are highly valued commodities and it’s worth getting them recycled.

Old cooking pots and pans typically can not go in your household recycling bin. However, that does not mean they need to go in landfill – many are made from recyclable materials like steel, aluminium, iron and copper, which scrap metal yards will happily accept for recycling. No matter what condition. Case in point – SIMs Metals (one of the largest scrap metal collectors worldwide) said they would accept damaged pots and pans.

Pots and pans can not be recycled through household recycling bins mainly because of their size – the equipment in Material Sorting Facilities is not designed to sort through items like this. Also, these items are made from a variety of materials, some of which can pose challenges for traditional recycling facilities. Only pure steel and aluminium can be recycled through our household recycling bins. And pots and pans are rarely made purely from these metals.

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