recycling teflon
Posted by hiimkelsi on Nov 13, 2008 · Member since Sep 2004 · 2297 posts
WHOOPS!! this pan that we've been using for months has had stuff peeling off of it, i thought it was oil, but today realized it was the teflon!!! YUCK!!! is there any way to recycle this? I just ordered an cast iron skillet, should be arriving on monday, so luckily i dont have to worry about going out and buying another pan. But to get rid of this.... what do i do?
You have a few options, depending on what is available in your area. There are metal scrap yards that pay for scrap (ideal situation). They'll strip, melt, re-use, re-sell whatever. Look in the phone book for "scrap metal."
Your dump also probably has a separate area for metal, you just have to pay to dump it. They like to keep this stuff out of landfills.
That being said, since municipalities have control over dumping services, your experience may be different. But try not to throw it in the trash. If there is a separate area at the dump, they'll never know it's in your trash bag.
In any case, if you haven't done so, you should tour your city dump, just for your own eye-opening information. I require my design students to tour it once a semester to remind everyone about where all our crap goes.