Getting rid of an old treadmill or other equipment?
When you bought your treadmill, you totally had every intention of using it every day. Lately, though, it’s been serving as a large, clunky coat rack that’s too heavy to move.
No matter what your reason for getting rid of it is, you’re now stuck with a bulky treadmill that you don’t have use for anymore and no place to store it. Exercise equipment is hard to get rid of, but good news … your treadmill isn’t necessarily fated for the landfill either.
There are many options to recycle or donate your used treadmill instead of throwing it out on the lawn or behind a dumpster. Get rid of that old treadmill with these tips for donating, recycling, and disposing of exercise equipment you no longer need or want.
How to Get Rid of Old Treadmills:
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Treadmill Recycling
When you throw your old treadmill in a dumpster or out on the curb, it ends up in a nearby landfill. Treadmills and other exercise equipment contain materials and fluids that pollute the air, water, and land when they are disposed of in a landfill.
When a treadmill gets recycled instead, valuable materials like plastic and steel are able to be recovered and reused in the production of thousands of new items and materials. Recycling of treadmills and used exercise equipment boosts our economy by millions of dollars each year.
Not only does treadmill recycling save money on the mining and fabrication of new materials, it also sustains existing jobs in the green energy industry and contributes to new job creation.
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You might be able to have your old treadmill picked up for recycling with a special collection from your usual recycler. If they do offer this service, call them and make an appointment for a special collection. Most recycling services will also charge a fee for pickup of bulky items.
If your trash recycler doesn’t offer special collection services, look for a recycling collection event in your area. These are occasionally held in many towns and cities, but you need to find a way to get your broken treadmill to the event in order for it to be recycled.
Keep an eye on local blogs, community bulletin boards, and newspapers for area announcements to find a recycling event near you.
Related from the Trash Talk Blog: How to Dispose of Broken Exercise Equipment
Treadmill Donation
If your old treadmill is in gently used, working condition, you can donate it to a local nonprofit organization like Big Brothers Big Sisters. Be sure to call your local agency to ask whether you can donate a treadmill, as some locations do not take them.
You can locate your nearest agencies by checking the different organizations’ websites or by searching Google or the Yellow Pages.
Where to Donate Used Exercise Equipment
Fitness 4 Charity is a nonprofit that accepts donations of used exercise equipment like treadmills and weight benches and gives it to those who can use it. You can likely donate your treadmill to this organization by filling out a donation form on their website.
There are some thrift stores that will accept treadmill donations and other used exercise equipment donations, but not all of them.
The Salvation Army will accept old treadmills that are in good condition. But if your old treadmill has a lot of dings or scuffs, or simply doesn’t work anymore, they won’t take it.
Goodwill used to take treadmill donations. However, according to their most recent list of donations they can and cannot accept, Goodwill does not accept treadmills.
A perk of donating your used treadmill to a charity or a thrift store is that it’s tax deductible. Some nonprofits even offer pickup services for the used exercise equipment you donate. However, you may be put on a waiting list and some organizations charge a fee for pickup.
Used exercise equipment? We’ll take it!BOOK A PICKUP ❯
Another option is to list your treadmill on Freecycle, a website where you can list items that you want to give away for free. Freecycle is free to use and is a great way to get rid of just about anything you don’t need anymore. Go to the “Find a Group Near You” page on the Freecycle website to offer or request items near you.
Selling Old Treadmills
To sell your old treadmill, price it by age, brand, and condition, but also make sure to research similar used and new exercise equipment on sale that you’re competing with. Since new, high tech or “smart” treadmills are rapidly released, selling old treadmills can take some time, but with enough effort (and the right price) you should find a buyer that’s assembling a home gym.
✨ Tip: To showcase it’s in good condition, clean it before posting your treadmill for sale online.
Treadmill Pick-up Services
If you don’t have the time or a truck to haul your treadmill to be recycled, sold, or donated, consider calling a junk pick-up service like LoadUp to haul away your old treadmill and recycle or donate it for you instead.
Booking a pick-up with LoadUp means they will remove your treadmill or other exercise equipment and take it to a local recycling facility or donation center. Unlike most other junk pick-up services, LoadUp recycles or donates the items they haul away instead of taking them straight to a landfill.
LoadUp gives you an honest, upfront price when you book service with them. Other junk removal companies low-ball their price estimates and then overcharge at the time of pick-up, but the price that LoadUp quotes you is what you can expect to pay and not a penny more.
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If you only have a single junk item to be picked up and recycled or donated, LoadUp will still take it. LoadUp doesn’t have a minimum load requirement and won’t charge extra for a small or single-item load, but other junk pick-up companies will refuse service or charge you for a full load if you only have one item.
LoadUp offers pick-up, haul away, and recycling or donation of your old treadmill at a time and day that works for you. When you book with LoadUp, you don’t have to worry about fitting a pick-up appointment into your schedule or having to take off work.
With junk removal prices 20-30% lower than those of other junk removal companies in the area, it’s easy to see why LoadUp is preferred by over 40,000 customers nationwide.
Why wait around for the next opportunity to deal with the hassle of recycling or donating your old treadmill yourself when you can have LoadUp do it for you?
Need to get rid of that old treadmill in a hurry? LoadUp offers next-day service, so if you call and schedule your pickup with LoadUp today, you can have that unwanted gym equipment out of your way as soon as tomorrow. The best part? LoadUp also offers curbside pickup, so you don’t even have to take time off work for your pick-up.
More from the Trash Talk Blog:
Junk Removal Made Easy
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