How to Recycle Plastic Toys

Many families have a lot of plastic toys that their children are no longer using. Plastic toys include action figures, dolls, toy cars, toy airplanes, rubber animals and other toys manufactured mainly from plastic. Instead of throwing these toys out, you can find ways to recycle them and keep them from piling up in a landfill.

Instructions

• 1

  Locate a toy company in your area that has a plastic toy recycling program. For instance, Toy Lab will schedule a time for you to drop off your plastic toys. In exchange for 25 lbs. of recyclable plastic toys, the company will give you a free personalized t-shirt.

• 2

  Call a daycare or pre-school if the plastic toys are still in good use. Many of these organizations look for toy donations to save money on purchasing new toys for their center.

• 3

  Donate the plastic toys to churches, consignments shops or hospitals. Churches and hospitals often hold toy drives to collect toys that families no longer use. A consignment shop will resell your plastic toys if they are in good condition, or you can try to sell them yourself by holding a yard sale.

• 4

  Look for a downcycling program within your community that accepts plastic toys. Unlike glass containers, plastic can't be broken down and reused over and over again. Instead a downcycling program incorporates the plastic from the toys into a new product, like concrete block filler or plastic landscaping lumber.

• 5

  Find another use for the plastic toys. If you can't find anywhere in your community that will accept plastic toys, think of creative uses for them. Make crafts, hold onto them for future children or grandchildren, or start a collection.