How do you dispose of used DE blades?

[Birds]

I'm new to DE shaving and just wondering how folks dispose of their used blades. Trash? Recycling?

Ideally I would like to recycle them with the cans, etc., but not sure of the safest way to do this.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[guenron]

Hmmm. What kind of cans do you recycle? Steel? or Aluminum?

 

[Jonnybc]

I use the blade vault in the packaging and throw them in the normal rubbish. As the blades are steel they are extracted with magnets at my councils rubbish tip. I only have to recycle aluminium cans.

 

[Leisureguy]

From my long post:

Because razor blades remain quite sharp even when too dull for shaving, disposal requires some care. (When I was growing up, all medicine cabinets had slots in the rear for disposal of razor blades. You don’t see those much anymore.) Dispensers that hold 5-10 blades have a “used-blade” compartment on the bottom for safe disposal.

If you buy blades in bulk, without a dispenser, use a special receptacle for used blades rather than simply throwing the blades into the trash—razor blades can all too readily cut through plastic trash bags and into the hands lifting the bag. Proper disposal is especially important if the household includes small children, but should be done in any case. Disposal of sharps is always worth doing with care.

You can fairly easily find commercially made disposal safes for razors, thanks to Mr. Google. This one, by Stanley, holds one gallon’s worth of blades—too large for home use. The PHC Blade Bank holds 1000 blades, a more reasonable size. But it’s also easy to take a plastic bottle with a smallish top (too small for a razor blade) and cut a slit across the shoulder of the bottle. Slide your discarded razors into the slit, and then tape over the slit or glue it shut when it’s time to discard the bottle full of used blades.

 

[roughrider]

I use the $0.99 Feather razor safe.

http://www.classicshaving.com/catalog/item/1240646/799291.htm

 

[Birds]

Thank you for the fast replies and the links/photos of the blade safes.

I called our local landfill and recycling center to ask about recycling used blades. They will not accept blades for recycling. They want them put in the trash.

Have other people found similar rules with their local recycling center?

 

[Tye]

What I do (and this may not be for everyone) is save the used blades until Halloween and then slip them into apples and hand them out as treats.

-Tye

 

[Jonnybc]

I use the $0.99 Feather razor safe.

Do you just throw the whole thing away when it's full or do you empty it?

 

[Birds]

Tye,

You've been out in that high desert sun too long...

 

[ajw1976]

I just put my used razors into an old pill bottle. When it's full, secure the top and throw it in the trash.

 

[With The Grain]

...

 

[gage0921]

What I do (and this may not be for everyone) is save the used blades until Halloween and then slip them into apples and hand them out as treats.

-Tye

Thats not creative at all........I actually go through the whole process of melting down chocolate, breaking the blades in small peices and then pouring them in to cartoon character molds and letting them sit....who would ever guess there was de blades in spongebob

 

[roughrider]

Do you just throw the whole thing away when it's full or do you empty it?

It's up to you. The blade safe opens up. You can empty it or toss the whole thing.

 

[Leisureguy]

Last Hallowe'en I was so harried I just had to hand out apples and blades and ask the kids to put the blades in the apples themselves.

 

[Leisureguy]

I don't think it's a good idea to dump a bunch of used razor blades in the trash (directly, not in a sharps container). Here's a typical example of Sharps Disposal Guidelines:

All used lancets, needles and syringes must be stored in a sharps container or a shatter-proof, puncture-resistant plastic bottle with a screw-on top. For example, a washed-out bleach or laundry detergent bottle.

* Close the screw-on top tightly in between use.
* Do not use milk containers or glass bottles.
* Before you discard the storage bottle, tape the top securely and label the bottle “Sharps.”
* Keep sharps container away from children and pet.
* Put your used sharps immediately into your container.
* Bring your container with you when you travel.
* Do not put sharps containers out with recycling or garbage.

In this set of guidelines, two specific drop-off points for the sharps are listed. I think the sealed plastic bottle idea (with a top too small to spill out the blades and a slit glued shut before container is discarded) is reasonably safe and secure.

And, if you're looking for an excuse, the Pinaud Bay Rum or Pinaud Lilac Vegetal 12.5 oz aftershave bottles (plastic, small tops) look ideal: lots of room on the shoulder for a slit as wide as a double-edged blade.

 

[Wolfman]

I have a 'Sharps' container, I'm also diabetic so it's standard equipment. If you want to buy one instead of fashioning your own, they're readily available at most drug stores.

 

[GuitarDan]

I don't. I dull them on a whetstone and use them for shims in guitar repair!

 

[ouch]

I don't. I dull them on a whetstone and use them for shims in guitar repair!

Remind me never to lend you my Shaptons.

 

[Aky007]

I just put it in the waxed paper that the new one had and toss it in the bin.

 

[Rik]

Last Hallowe'en I was so harried I just had to hand out apples and blades and ask the kids to put the blades in the apples themselves.