Can You Recycle Old Bathroom Furniture?

If you’re remodelling and are concerned about having a sustainable bathroom, you’ll need to do more than just shop for eco-friendly bathroom products. It’s also important to consider what will happen to your old bathroom when you dispose of it. How do you recycle a bathtub, for instance, or what if it’s so old it contains lead?

Let’s explore the topic of how to recycle bathroom furniture and find out.

Can tiles be recycled?

Depending on where you live, your local recycling centre should allow you to dispose of old tiles responsibly. Most recycling centres today have bins to collect rubble, of which old broken tiles are considered a part. But can you recycle old tiles for money?

Vintage tiles are becoming increasingly popular in bathrooms inspired by retro and classic design movements. Finding them in a pristine, unused condition is getting harder and harder as the years go by, which is why vintage art deco tiles or vintage art nouveau tiles, for instance, can today fetch high prices at auctions or in antique shops. So, there’s definitely a market for old recycled tiles if you’re able to remove them effectively.

Removing old tiles without breaking them will require the skills of an expert construction professional. Be mindful that removing tiles for recycling will take longer than removing them for disposal, so they will probably be more expensive. However, if you’re serious about protecting the environment and have the finances to invest in a luxury bathroom, it’s definitely something you should consider.

If you manage to remove them in one piece and get rid of the excess tile cement, What can you do with the recycled tiles? You may wish to take a sample to your local antique dealer who can assess the quality and value of your tiles and, if they’re considered re-sellable, make you an offer. If money isn’t a concern, you may wish to donate old tiles to a charity shop that may even collect them from you.

How to dispose of a bathroom suite responsibly?

You may have asked yourself, ‘What can I do with an old bath?’ or even, ‘Will anyone buy a used toilet?’ The truth is, even if you’re disposing of old bathroom furniture that seems unappealing to you, it may seem reusable to people remodelling on a budget. Or, as with old tiles, if it’s got a vintage aesthetic appeal, it could be considered a valuable antique.

These specialists will also be able to advise you what to do with a bathtub that contains lead, in case this is a concern, so they should be your first port of call. It may turn out that they can re-enamel your old bathtub for re-sale or even for you if you decide to keep it.

What to do with old pipes?

Can you recycle plumbing? If you have old, leaking copper pipes and are replacing them with more efficient modern materials, your old copper plumbing will be worth good money in the scrap metal world. Simply find your local scrap metal recycling plant online and they will most likely pay you by the weight of the piping.

How about plastic plumbing? Can you recycle PVC pipes for money? The short answer is: probably not. However, you can easily dispose of PVC pipes at a recycling centre. They will grind the material into smaller pieces so it can be melted and moulded into new recycled PVC products. Or you may wish to repurpose the piping yourself—for example, as storm drain material or in an allotment garden’s filtration system.

Whichever way you choose to go about it, remodelling your bathroom sustainably is something we all need to consider when renovating our homes in order to help us tackle the climate crisis. Just because you don’t want your old bathroom doesn’t mean the world can’t make new use of it. Good luck with your new, green bathroom project.

Looking for something else to read? Take a look at our article on Luxury for Less: How Online Retail and the Sustainability Have Helped Drive Down the Price of Craftsmanship.