Can Sewing Needles Be Recycled?

It is well known that it is somehow difficult to dispose of used sharp objects. There have been cases where an improperly. As these metals don’t degrade naturally, recycling is the best way to ensure that they don’t add massive amounts of waste to the environment.

Sewing needles can be recycled. However, one needs to properly go through the process so you won’t cause other harm in the process of sorting the trash.

Asides from discussing the feasibility of recycling needles, this article will look at the various dangers of recycling needles improperly. Also, we will look at the proper way you can dispose of your used sewing needles.

Recycling Sewing Needles

With every other product used in the home, one has to properly dispose of sewing needles. After a long time of use, your sewing needles might break, rust, or become blunted. In the case of things like fragmented threads, almost everyone knows that you can easily recycle them. But what of sewing needles?

After all, needles are made of metals that neither degrade naturally nor can be burnt off. (Even if they could be burnt off, it wouldn’t be a proper way of disposing of them because of the possible environmental effects). If it was possible to recycle them for future reuse, it would be the best and maybe only environmentally safe way.

Luckily, it is possible. When you properly dispose of your sewing needles, it becomes useful again for manufacturers that use the materials the needles are made for. Rather than the needles lying fallow in a dump or the ground, they are used for

Benefits Of Recycling Sewing Needles

There are many advantages we gain from ensuring that the majority of used sewing needles get recycled. Asides from the general environmental benefits of recycling, other advantages are unique to sharp metals like sewing needles. These are:

They reduce harm:

If used sewing needles are disposed of by dumping them on refuse grounds, they would pose a risk to wildlife. Many birds and rodents on these grounds scavenge within the waste for food. The presence of needles or pins in such wastes can lead to a cause where some animals swallow or get injured by needles. Also, some homeless people 

They reduce the need for dumping space:

As massive as our planet seems to us, it is not unlimited space. Rather, it is one that continuously accommodates our ballooning needs. However, it is inevitable that the space eventually gets used up. When we look at the massive amount of waste being generated daily, it is clear that recycling every possible waste product will benefit us and our planet in the long run. While things like needles are unlike plastic in their ease of recycling, they are also recycled for use in metal and steel industries.

These are the main benefits of recycling Sewing Needles rather than just throwing them at dumping sites.

Dangers Of Improperly disposing of Sewing needles

Many of us are used to just throwing our used sewing needles in the trash. This can prove to be extremely harmful. Many homeless people and animals scavenge through the trash and can get harmed if there are objects like needles there.

Also, in some places, trash is sorted by hand. If you dispose of your needles haphazardly with other types of trash, the person doing the sorting could get injured and be exposed to infection. Also, even a sorting machine could be damaged by needles if it’s not meant to detect them.

Lastly, having damaged or old needles lying around can be harmful to you, anybody you are living with, and even pets. It is quite easy for freak accidents to occur if you don’t follow the proper methods of disposing of your used needles.

How To Properly Dispose Of Needles For Recycling

Needles and other sharp objects like blades and pins have to be managed more carefully than most other household wastes.

Place the needles in a container:

If you will throw the used needles into the general trash, first place them in a container. You can use a used small plastic container and only throw it away when it’s filled. The purpose of this is to prevent injury to the person that will sort the trash for recycling. Even if the sorting is done by a machine, having the needles in a container ensures that the machine won’t develop faults because it unexpectedly detects sharp objects like needles. Furthermore, needles can pierce and fall off from plastic trash bags if you carelessly throw them in. This could have unwanted consequences for unsuspecting victims.

Dispose of them exclusively in sharp bins:

Many neighborhoods have bins made specifically for sharp objects like needles. If your neighborhood does, good. Ensure that you always separate sharp objects from other trash and put them in the sharp bins.

Donate them:

Many organizations collect things like old needles and use the proceeds for charity. If there is any such organization around you, your task is made even easier. Just keep all your old and broken needles in one place and donate when they are plenty enough.

When all these are followed, you can rest assured that you are not further causing harm to anybody or the environment with how you dispose of your used sewing needles.

Reusing Old Sewing needles

One other method of managing sewing needles is by adopting the needles for other purposes. The most common way of doing this is by using them as pins: Many of us use pins to hold things in place in the home. Due to their physical similarities, you can use blunt or broken needles to serve the same purpose.

Conclusion

When everyone does their part, the planet becomes a better place. Rather than carelessly throw away your used sewing needles, you can follow due process by ensuring that they are ready for recycling. In that way, we reduce the presence of waste in dumps and also mitigate the risks that can abound by having sharp objects lying around because they were not disposed of properly.