I’ve been searching for a little while and haven’t found any satisfactory answers to my questions. A few years ago I inherited some pots and pans from my brother when he got married, and I bought some cheap equipment at Target. The baking pans appear to be coated aluminum, as the coating looks like it’s coming off. The pots and pans (I think) are non-stick stainless, but they’re getting harder to clean. Stuff keeps getting stuck to them and burning.
I want to know if I should throw this stuff out, especially the peeling pans. I don’t want the Teflon or whatever getting in my food. Can you recycle cookware?
You should ask you local recycling facility, but IIRC anything made of one substance with a different substance “permanently” laminated onto it is generally not recyclable.
My info may be woefully out of date, however.
In any event, if the pans are obviously depositing something besides food onto your plate, common sense should behoove you to junk them.
I wouldn’t have thought a thin layer of teflon is going to upset the process of recycling - they may not even bother to remove plastic handles - just let it all burn off when it is melted back down.
Value in recycling: about 2 cents/lb - 4 if the scrap deal feels particularly generous. The attachements and coatings don’t matter much, simply because you don’t have enough stuff to begin with.
Odds are, and depending on the municipality you live in, there’s magnetic separation of household waste either pro or post incineration- which means it 'll get recycled even if you put it in the trash. If you have a curbside recycling program that includes tin cans, your municipality likely does not separate like that. In which case, call 'm and see if you can include your stuff with the tin cans.
The municipality in this case is Baltimore City. Their DPW page only covers cans, bottles, paper, etc., the stuff people usually care about putting out. Not even a mention of any other kinds of stuff like scrap metal. I suppose I can take it to one of the local drop-off centers and see what they tell me.
Is there any way I can determine if the stuff coming off is the non-stick coating or the actual metal itself?
Is it little bitty black flecks exposing shiny metal underneath? That’s the Teflon flaking off. The cookware would probably be ok for re-use as long as you can get all the lining off. Some places will sandblast the residue off and recoat it for a fee. But for a $10 omelet pan, it’s really not worth it. (I’ve never heard of a problem with recycling, but admittedly I only deal with large scale shipments.) My local GoodWill will take cookware, and what cannot be used or repaired is sent for recycling.
If it’s dull thicker bits exposing dark pitted metal underneath, throw away or recycle. That’s pot metal eroding off and your pan is, for lack of a better word, toast.
Thanks. DeVena, looks like I have a little of both. The heavier aluminum cookware is black on the inside, but little shiny bits are starting to be exposed. I thought the lighter baking pans were also aluminum, but it looks to be black underneath they gray.