Everything You Need to Know About Recycling Old Lawn Mowers

Figuring out how to dispose of an old lawn mower can be a hassle. Whether you’re dealing with a bulky grass cutter or a broken lawn trimmer, finding a safe and responsible way to handle lawn mower recycling can take up an entire Saturday,time you’d probably rather spend relaxing and enjoying your weekend.

Luckily, you’ve come to the right place to learn all about recycling old lawn mowers. From the easiest ways to recycle lawn mowers and where to bring them, to donating used lawn equipment and properly disposing of leftover fuel, we’ll cover everything you need to know. Whether you’re tackling lawn equipment disposal or just figuring out what to do with an old lawnmower, this guide has you covered.

But first, can you recycle a lawn mower? It’s hard to know since recycling anything other than everyday paper, plastic, metal, and (sometimes) glass can be a bit of a mystery.

Since most lawn mowers are made from metal and hard plastic parts, they’re technically recyclable. However, when it comes to lawn mower disposal, it’s not as simple as tossing it into your blue curbside recycling bin. The process takes a bit more effort, but it’s totally doable with the right info.

⚠️ Before we go any further into lawn mower recycling, it’s important that no matter what you do with your old lawn mower, you must make sure it is completely drained of oil and gasoline.

There are more ways to recycle an old lawn mower than hauling it over to Home Depot or your local recycling center. When we usually think of recycling, what comes to mind is the municipal recycling facility with all of its crushing, ripping machines and giant equipment.

The truth is, dropping off your items at a traditional recycling facility isn’t the only way to recycle and in many cases, it’s actually one of the least effective options available. Exploring alternatives like donation, resale, or working with a lawn mower disposal service can make a bigger impact and save you time.

Not sure what to do with an old lawnmower? Here are a few simple and sustainable options:

• give it to a neighbor
• give it to a friend or family member
• donate it to charity or a nonprofit organization
• sell it on Facebook, Craigslist, LetGo, etc.
• sell it for parts or scrap at a junkyard

Obviously, if your old lawn mower is pretty beat up or no longer works, it’s best to skip the first few options on that list. If you’re considering donating your used lawn mower, just make sure it’s still in good, working condition so it’s actually helpful to whoever receives it.

As mentioned before, no matter how you choose to get rid of your old lawn mower, it’s essential to first remove any gas and oil from the machine before moving forward with disposal or recycling.

If you’re wondering where to take old lawn mowers to be drained, visit a mechanic or a repair shop to pay them to drain the gas and oil if you don’t feel good doing it yourself.

However, this is a fairly simple process that you can do yourself if you’re handy.

Here’s how to drain oil from a lawn mower:

1. Use a siphon hose to drain the gas out of the tank and into a clean container. It’s best to use a siphon hose with a hand pump attached.
2. Next, unplug the spark plug wire and tilt the lawnmower on its side with the carburetor facing up in the air. Remove the center bolt or bolts that hold the blade in place and carefully slide the blade off the lawnmower.
3. Position an oil catch pan under the mower and remove the oil reservoir plug to drain the oil into the pan. The oil reservoir plug location can differ from mower to mower, but it’s usually found under the blade at the center of the deck on a push mower.

⛽ Pro Tip: Never use your mouth to siphon gasoline out of a lawn mower.

If you have a riding lawn mower, the oil drain plug is typically located on the side of the engine block. Once you drain the oil, take it to a local auto parts store or mechanic. Many places will recycle the oil for you and may even handle small engine disposal for a small fee.

However, you will need to dispose of the gas as well, so it’s probably best to take the gasoline and the oil to your municipal household hazardous waste (HHW) disposal facility.

If you don’t know where your HHW facility is, you can find out by checking your city or municipality’s website or by giving them a call.

You can contact local charities to inquire if they accept donations of lawn mowers, whether small or large. Ask about their pickup services, and check if they have any rules or restrictions regarding donations, such as whether they accept riding lawn mowers or even old lawn tractors.

While some charities do offer pickup (for a fee) of donated items that are difficult to haul in a car, chances are you will likely need to haul your old lawn mower to a donation center to drop it off.

In fact, no matter how you decide to go about recycling your old lawn mower, it’s highly likely that there will be some hauling involved on your part.

Since many people don’t have a truck or the necessary hauling equipment, it’s a smart choice to hire a junk removal company to pick up and safely dispose of your old lawn mower for you.

If you’re still looking for where to take old lawn mowers to you and end up bringing the mower in one piece to a scrap metal yard near you, they’ll most likely only pay you the price of aluminum breakage, or dirty aluminum that’s contaminated with steel.

The value of your used lawn mower increases significantly if you disassemble it and separate the metal and plastic parts from those that can’t be scrapped. Scrap yards often pay more when they don’t have to spend extra money on buying old lawn mowers and taking the time to dismantle and clean them themselves.

If all else fails, you can always haul your old lawn mower to your nearest recycling facility and drop it off there for you.

Deciding to get rid of your old lawn mower is one thing, but actually figuring out how to do it in a responsible way can be a headache.

Most people aren’t able to leave their old or broken lawn mowers on the curb for their municipal trash removal service to haul away, because most trash services won’t pick them up. Plus, not everyone has the vehicle needed to haul these items to the local recycling center if there is one.

If you just want to be done with your old lawn mower but don’t want to add it to the already overflowing waste stream, having a professional junk removal company pick it up can be a truly eco-friendly option.

More From the Trash Talk Blog: How Does Junk Removal Work?

Lawn mowers and other landscaping equipment can be cleaned of any fuel residue, broken down into its metal and plastic components, and the materials used in the production of new lawn equipment or other products.

When you schedule a pickup with the junk removal pros at LoadUp, we’ll handle the recycling of lawn mowers and even take additional yard equipment off your hands. This saves you time, energy, and the hassle of figuring out how to get rid of an old lawn mower on your own. LoadUp provides convenient haul-away and eco-friendly disposal for all types of lawn equipment and nearly anything else cluttering up your space.

LoadUp recycles everything we pick up that we possibly can after hauling it away by taking everything to local recycling facilities, donating it to local charities, or disposing of it in other environmentally-friendly ways.

We’re proud to deliver top-notch customer service while staying committed to being one of the greenest junk removal companies around. LoadUp is trusted by over 572,000 customers nationwide, and our dedication shows in our customer reviews.

Pro Tip: Got an old grill to recycle? Have it picked up and recycled by a junk removal service.

Our Loaders are fast, friendly, professional, and incredibly efficient. If you’re looking for licensed junk removal pros who are fully insured and background-checked, then you’ll want to schedule your lawn mower removal with LoadUp today.

Most junk removal companies will give you an estimate, but require an on-site visit to see the lawn mower and any other items you need hauled away. Their final quote is usually based on the amount of space your junk takes up in their truck.

Not only is this a waste of your time, but it also gives the junk removal service a chance to overcharge you and to increase the price even further with fees and surcharges once it’s time for them to haul your junk away.

LoadUp provides you with an honest, all-inclusive price upfront online or over the phone without having to come out and take a look because their pricing is fairly based on item count. That’s because LoadUp not only values your time but also believes you should be charged fairly and treated with transparency and respect.

As long as it is drained of oil and gas, we’ll take your old lawn mower off your hands and make sure it gets recycled or disposed of in the most environmentally responsible way possible.

So the next time you find yourself not only wondering where to find lawn mower recycling near me or or where to get rid of old lawn mowers, but also what to do with old mattresses and old furniture, you can always depend on LoadUp’s easy, online booking system.

♻️ Make disposal easy. Peek at your upfront, affordable price by entering your zip code here.

Just give LoadUp a call at 844-239-7711 or visit us online to get an upfront, guaranteed quote for lawn mower removal and recycling in your area with LoadUp.

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