to want to recycle or donate rather than just throw away?

[OwlinaTree]

Me and DH bought new plates etc today. We finally have things that match!

We now have a large pile of dinner plates of varying sizes, bowls and side plates from about 5 different services. There is also an assortment of novelty mugs (including one that sings!)

I want to recycle these by donating them somewhere, but DH is convinced nowhere will take them. They are all pretty used, but not chipped or cracked. Basically serviceable enough.

Does anyone know of a service/charity that might take them, or is DH right and the only place for them is the bin?

[doasIsaynotasIdo]

Freecycle is good, or maybe donate them to a local shelter/charity?

[Janek]

We have an asylum-seekers drop-in that would have anything like that, these people, you could try googling for something similar close to you.

[joanne1947]

Try the Salvation Army, they might take them or know a place that will. They help those in most need

[WhereDoAllTheCalculatorsGo]

I'm a waste manager, this is common with people who feel guilt when they create unnecessary landfill.

We live in a throw away society, that's the problem. They weren't good enough for you, despite being perfectly serviceable, so YABU to expect someone else to use them so that your conscience is clear.

You should have kept them and not bought new ones.

No one needs matching sets. I like having an eclectic mix.

[DamsonInDistress]

WhereDo has a point, if you don't want them what makes you think anyone else will? Try your local shelters perhaps, or just take them to a charity shop and all them if they think they'll sell. Or if you don't want to trudge them into town and back, just bin them.

[fairgame]

Try the 'stuff for free' pages on fb. There are sometimes people on there that are just starting out and will take odd plates. I've never failed to give anything away on my local page!

[WhereDoAllTheCalculatorsGo]

We spend a lot of time researching the psychology of recycling and waste, plus it's a very emotive subject; people get very excited about their wheelie bins.
I regularly get abused by people who 'want to recycle' their floppy discs or video tapes and get very upset when they are told that no one wants them.

[Pipbin]

We had a sofa that was the wrong size for our new house but was still serviceable. We gave it to the charity that run the food bank, they had a family that had just arrived in the area with nothing.

[londonrach]

Woman refuse, free ycle, fb free sites. Someone would love them...

[Greencurtain]

Plenty of people get rid of serviceable things. It's not wasteful if the old stuff is put to good use which the OP is trying to achieve.

OP you could list on eBay (putting your nearest town/city in the title, buyer can collect). Start it at 99p and list the whole lot as a job lot. Someone will want it. Or phone your local charity shop in advance and ask if they sell that sort of stuff. There are 3 in our high street and they sell slightly different stuff to each other.

[OwlinaTree]

Thank you for the suggestions, I know the salvation army has a food bank round here, so they may take them, and the asylum seekers refuge is a great idea, will look into that.

I know I could keep them, but one reason for buying was needing more side plates and bowls, so there was an actual need for more. When me and DH bought our first home we had lots of donated furniture and it was really useful to start us off. When we've been able to replace stuff we've tried to pay the favour forward so to speak and give the old stuff away.

I'm not going to feel guilty about replacing pots that are mostly 15+ years old!

[museumum]

The larger charity shop chains will have a use for them even if they can't sell them. I give my mixed stuff to oxfam. Some is perfect condition (eg a pair of running shoes I won online but were too small) and some is quite tatty but in this years statement I found they made over seventy pounds from my stuff and gift aid too.

[thatwouldbeanecumenicalmatter]

What's the matter with wanting to recycle/donate them?

My dinner plates (that actually I've just ate from moments ago) were free (left to be chucked out) from a care home that DFIL was in charge of demolishing! They were/are in great condition (older than other plates we've bought since yet still no chips etc) and we'd just bought a house, had nothing and were really grateful that DFIL had thought of us! Nothing a good clean didn't sort....Also they're the same pattern/set that my very glam Nana has so I'm not gonna complain

Donate them OP I'm sure someone will be happy to have them

[ILovePud]

I've always used broken crockery in the bottom of my garden pots to help with drainage. If you can't give them away could you use them for that purpose instead of landfill?

[OwlinaTree]

Glad there's lots of support for the recycling! I'm not much of a gardener Ilovepud but I might keep a couple for that purpose. museumum the info that Oxfam give is a good incentive to donate, and it's good they can claim the tax back. I'm mystified as to how they track it all though!

[WhereDoAllTheCalculatorsGo]

There's nothing at all wrong with wanting to donate stuff. It is always worth considering your motives though. Particularly if you feel yourself getting annoyed if no one wants them.
Also worth thinking about the throw-away culture. I'm guilty of it whenever Apple bring out a new iphone.

[OwlinaTree]

I don't think I'd be annoyed if no one wanted it calculators. It's more a sense of if it is useful to someone I want to donate it, but don't want to stick someone with a load of 'rubbish' they've then got to spend time getting rid of.

[springalong]

My local womens refuge are SO grateful for old kitchen stuff. Apparently families run in the middle of the night with NOTHING. They may be set up in a new flat/house but cannot afford to furnish it. If you can please find a good new home for those plates. It sounds as if it might help several families.

If not freegle (freecycle)

[FightOrFlight]

Not sure if you have something like this in your local areas?

www.surreyreusenetwork.org.uk/

Hostels for the homeless, women's refuges, local social services (especially for young people going into their first accommodation) would probably have a use for usable crockery.

[ArgyMargy]

Wheredo that attitude stinks, IMO. If we all kept everything forever, no-one wins. I love freecycling - things I don't like any more are someone else's idea of perfect. And vice versa. It's not throwing away, it's recycling. I'll carry on, thanks.

[MaybeDoctor]

Workplace staffroom?
School staffrooms often have terrible or insufficient cups/plates.

[WhereDoAllTheCalculatorsGo]

That's bollocks, ArgyMargy, the planet wins. We don't have unlimited resources you know. We shouldn't be throwing away good stuff because of fashion.

[Monica101]

I think what WhereDo is saying is really interesting. Not that you shouldn't try to rehome the plates OP.
Just it's a not the answer to buy lots of things then clear your clutter off to a charity shop thinking that's a great thing. Still better not to buy lots of new clutter in the first place.
Not saying that applies to you OP, just as a general point.

[mrsfuzzy]

argy margy agree with you on thefree cycling, charity etc.wheredo you lost ground on the 'keep everything' as you throw your phones what about recycling those ? charities collect them for recycling or sell for parts on ebay, i've made hundreds of £'s selling various things, i clear the clutter, people get something they want/need and i'm quids in, it's a win win situation.

[taxi4ballet]

Try Salvation Army (they will often come and collect), or ReUse Centre, there may be one near you.