Replies

1. 
   desodad | May 20, 2023 02:07pm | #1

   I have taken them to the local metals recycler ("Recla-Metals") in the past.

2. 
   pantalones868 | May 20, 2023 04:34pm | #2

   All our recycling goes into one bin. Cardboard, glass ,broken glass, plastic crap, metal. Nobody gets out of a truck anymore ,a machine picks it up and dumps it. They sort it out on the other end. I figure quality metal is probably the most valuable to them. Sharp blades etc i dont think is a concern for them so therefore not to me. The stuff that comes off those trucks could be anything, possible toxic chemicals,medical waste, Jimmy Hoffa,dead raccoons, live raccoons and they have a way im sure to keep themselves out of harms way.
   Things like planer knives I keep, they can and have been fashioned into tools. I made an entire set of chip carving knives out of disposable planer blades for example. Specialty scrapers and such. A little high quality metal around the shop is pretty handy. Circular saw blades? Larger than 7 1/4"-They wear out? Some of my better blades I've had for 40 + years. Bandsaw blades unless I really smoke or tweak them I tend to keep them as well. I need one of a certain size and don't have a fresh one and I want it now I'll search the stack and sharpen one by hand.

1. 
   joeleonetti | May 20, 2023 07:44pm | #3

   I am generally in this camp. I don't have a lot of metal waste; however, recently the starving student cheap steak knives I received in 1990 have started to fail (basically a half inch stump tang). The plastic handles are failing and the blades are bending out of them when used. They are pointy and somewhat sharp. I've been tossing them into the recycling bin for the reasons pantalones868 has outlined above. There was another time I threw out some sort of metal part that was defective and dangerous. There I disassembled it first and threw it away after smashing to bits a few of the parts so someone wouldn't try to use it. I had a toaster that once caught on fire. Before I tossed that, I cut off the cord in hopes of discouraging anyone from dumpster diving and trying to use it.

3. 
   lordulrich | May 21, 2023 07:13pm | #4

   I pile up my metal waste and eventually haul it to the scrap yard when I have a truck full, although mostly not from my woodshop.

1. 
   joeleonetti | May 22, 2023 01:03pm | #8

   My dad saves up his cans and other metals for the whole year and buys the fixings for Thanksgiving dinner with it. He's been doing that for at least 50 years. In his 20s, before getting a proper job out of college, he was a "junk man" (his term, more trendy terms now). He made a ton of money recycling metal. It took him 5 or more years of professional work to have his annual salary equal annual salary from scrap metal. A good part of the reason for going for a professional job is a few near misses when removing/breaking down the scrap.

4. 
   _mj_ | May 21, 2023 08:12pm | #5

   Local NYC recycling combines metal, glass & plastic. I coil BS blades as tight as I can and ziptie them before putting them in a plastic bag. TS blades that my sharpshop has marked "last" I bend from flat and rim with tape, then just add to the bin. The boys doing the work just dump the can into the truck. Any protection I add is for the deposit can collectors not expecting sharps.

5. 
   rob_ss | May 22, 2023 02:30am | #6

   Mine are 'donated' to the local council as scrap metal. I don't take particular precautions - it's all sharp in the bin and is handled with big machinery not human hands.

6. 
   john_c2 | May 22, 2023 05:44am | #7

   My city doesn't take metal in recycling. A large percentage of what people put in the single stream recycling bin isn't actually recyclable either. Most plastic ends up being sorted out, along with any metal. In the end, they are mostly taking just cardboard and paper.

   If we put out a sleeper sofa we need to separate the metal parts, or it won't be picked up. Any large metal items we are supposed to call for a separate truck to pick up, but it's never necessary. Local scrappers just drive around picking up metal to cash in. I save up the small bits, such as blades, hardware, etc, and put it out together. I've had days where I don't even make it back to the house before someone has stopped and picked it up.

1. 
   joeleonetti | May 22, 2023 01:06pm | #9

   Generally speaking, I think the United States could/should do a much better job of recycling the waste. It almost feels criminal.

1. 
   john_c2 | May 22, 2023 01:24pm | #10

   And, recycled here, not shipped overseas and expect them to clean up our crap.

1. 
   joeleonetti | May 22, 2023 07:20pm | #12

   agreed

7. 
   elmaduro | May 22, 2023 05:28pm | #11

   Not sure if true: A Woodworker once recycled an old TS blade into a clock and hung it above a door. Later, the door was slammed and the blade released like a guillotine.