How to Get Rid of (Almost) Anything on Nantucket (2024)

We reduce, we reuse, we recycle. But inevitably we end up with items that we just aren’t sure what to do with. We want to dispose of them responsibly. But how? Where? That’s where Bluedot comes to the rescue with our guide on how to get rid of (almost) everything.

Editor's Note: Some of these require off-island trips. And always try posting still-usable items to the Facebook groups Buy Nothing Nantucket or checking to see what our local second-hand stores will accept. Where we haven’t listed websites below, it’s because they are easily Googleable. We know there’s plenty we haven’t yet covered (we’re working on it!) so please tell us what we’re missing. And if you know of a way to get rid of it, please share it with us. For a more extensive list, check out our Universal edition of How to Get Rid of (Almost) Anything for off-Island or mail-in options.

For ways to get rid of items on Nantucket, navigate with the links below.

Appliances

Sure you can turn to Facebook Marketplace for your still-has-some-life-left-in-’em fridges, freezers, dehumidifiers, and air conditioners, but for those that have nothing left to give, check out the Environmental Protection Agency’s Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD). Select “Massachusetts” in the RAD Partner Locator to find who partners in your area that will dispose of these appliances in an earth-friendly way.

Antifreeze

Unopened, antifreeze can last forever and opened, it can be used for up to eight years. However, if you need to recycle a bottle of antifreeze, some auto parts shops accept certain car fluids, so ask locally, or plan for your next off-island trip.

Batteries

Everything in our lives seems to rely on battery power these days. But with all that power, comes the responsibility of properly disposing of batteries when they’ve come to the end of their lives. The Nantucket Refuse District does not accept any batteries, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have options. That said, different batteries require different disposal methods. Let’s break it down:

Alkaline batteries; Lithium batteries from watches, remotes and cameras; and rechargeables

According to Bluedot’s eco-advice maven, Dear Dot, “most disposable alkaline and zinc carbon batteries do not contain hazardous material and, according to the state of Massachusetts’ Recycle Smart initiative, throwing these in the trash is the best option.” However, because batteries can contain materials that are worth conserving, you might want to take any alkaline, lithium or rechargeable batteries to a Call2Recycle drop-off site. There are several on the Cape, find them at call2recycle.org/locator or find out about their mail-in programs at call2recycle.org/store. They handle a variety of battery types, including single-use, rechargeable, damaged or recalled batteries (you’ll need a special package for these), and cellphones.

Note that lithium batteries can leak heavy metals into soil, so do not throw them out.

Vehicle batteries

Return vehicle batteries for safe disposal to stores where they’re sold (handle them carefully!). For hybrid or electric vehicles, refer to manufacturers’ instructions on how to dispose of batteries. Never put vehicle batteries in household trash or curbside recycling.

E-bike batteries

Check with bike stores — many will accept them for disposal. Or rely on Call2Recycle.

Books

We are huge fans of Little Free Libraries, where you can drop off or pick up your latest read. But if it’s time to purge your personal library and it requires more space than a little house on a pole offers, then try:

• Nantucket Book Shelf Facebook Group
• The Nantucket Atheneum (call ahead; there might be special dates or guidelines)
• The Hospital Thrift Shop
• Take-It-or-Leave-It

Bras/Undergarments

It can take over 200 years for textiles to decompose in the landfill. Instead of sentencing your old bras to that slow death, send them to Bra Recyclers. This organization accepts old bras and donates them to women in need, including survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, women who are homeless or living in poverty, and women struggling with medical expenses, such as breast cancer survivors. Bra Recyclers will recycle even unusable bras — so feel free to donate your bra even if it isn’t in pristine condition.

Planet Aid and I Support the Girls also accept new and/or gently used undergarments to provide to folks in need.

Subset and SuperCircle collaborated to create a recycling program for old undergarments that can earn you up to $25 off of your next purchase with Subset. Gather at least five laundered undergarments in any condition that you are ready to part ways with, pack them in a container from home, and use the free shipping label provided by Subset to send them off. You will receive $25 in credit for your next purchase and your old undies will earn a second life as furniture padding, insulation, and more.

Car Seats

Check with Take-It-or-Leave-It or the Seconds Shop to see if they’ll accept your still-working car seats. Target hosts a bi-annual car seat trade-in event (usually on Earth Day and one fall date) where guests can bring in any type of old car seat to the Guest Services area and receive a 20% off coupon to be used toward select baby gear. Materials from your old car seat will be used to create new products such as buckets, carpet padding, and more.

CDs/DVDs/More

Greendisk will supply you with shipping materials so you can send in your outdated techwaste. They will properly recycle and dispose of CDs, DVDs, VHS, audio cassette tapes, and more.

Christmas Decorations

For holiday decor that’s still in working condition, try the local thrifts.

Take your no-longer-working holiday lights to big off-Island hardware stores, such as Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Ace.

Coffee Pods

While the greenest coffee pod is the reusable one, makers of disposable coffee pods are recognizing that people want the convenience without the guilt. Consequently, some companies, such as Nespresso, are offering recycling options. Keurig’s K-Cups and Tassimo’s T-Discs are recyclable in your municipal stream but you must peel off the foil top and empty out any coffee grounds before putting them in the bin.

Cold Gel Packs

Food subscription services are rising in popularity, and while they can be a sustainable choice, they can also leave you with an excess of cold gel packs. Donate excess packs to the Nantucket Food Pantry. If not, cut open your cold pack and remove the goo inside of it. Let the goo dry out before throwing it in the trash, and allow the plastic wrapper to dry before recycling it.

Terracycle’s Bausch + Lomb One by One free recycling program offers thousands of drop off locations for your used lenses and blister packs. You can also send in other eye care products including eye drop packaging and contact lens containers with Terracycle’s Biotrue Eye Care free recycling program. Send in your unused lenses and solution to the non profit, youth-founded organization DonateContacts, where they will redistribute the donations to folks in need who match the same prescription.

Denim

Let Blue Jeans Go Green transform your old denim into creative new products, from insulating material for building efforts to pet bed inserts to thermal insulation used in sustainable food and pharmaceutical packaging.

Disposable Razors/Blades/Packaging

Terracycle’s Gillette Recycling Program offers free shipping labels to send in razors, blades, and plastic packaging. Albatross sends its customers an envelope with every order that customers can send their used safety blades in as a part of their recycling program; they also accept other brands of razors. If you use a straight-edge razor, simply collect the blades in a recyclable metal container and recycle them with your tin cans and other metals.

Earbuds and Headphones

Earbuds and headphones are a common e-waste item. Best Buy’s Electronics and Appliances Recycling Program will recycle them for free, accepting three items a day per household. Apple will send you a prepaid shipping label so you can send in your old headphones to be recycled. Many manufacturers including Sony and Bose will take back their earbuds and headphones to be refurbished or recycled.

Electronics

You might be done with your old laptop, but it can still be of use to someone. Check with local thrift stores first. The nonprofit Computers with Causes accepts old tech items and donates them to students, foster children, shelters, disabled US veterans, and a number of other causes. World Computer Exchange is another nonprofit that will donate your unwanted tech items to people in need.

If you’d like to get some cash for your electronics, sell them to Decluttr or through Amazon’s trade-in program, which will give you Amazon gift cards in return. If you’re looking for more options, check out SellCell, a site that compares buyback companies and helps you find the best deal.

E-Waste

If your electronics are well and truly of no use to anyone, ensure that they get disposed of properly. Best Buy will accept three items daily at its stores. Goodwill has partnered with DellReconnect to recycle e-waste at any of its 2,000 locations. Staples will take your e-waste for free, and also recycled ink and toner cartridges. Or send your items to Amazon (via a free mailing label).

Eyeglasses

Lions Clubs around the world will accept your eyeglasses and ensure they make their way to someone who needs them. There are clubs in Barnstable and Dennis. You can find locations at lionsclubs.org.

Various retailers, including LensCrafters, Target Optical, Pearle Vision, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club Optical will accept donations and get them to the appropriate nonprofits either for responsible disposal or reuse. Check with your closest optical retailer to confirm.

Fur Coats

You might not be shopping for these pieces anymore, but if you have an old fur coat gathering dust, there are organizations ready to help. PETA, for one, is taking these remnants of a brutal industry and turning them into something positive for those in need. Mail your unwanted fur to PETA, and they will donate it to the homeless or refugees.

Furniture, Building Materials, Appliances

Habitat for Humanity (habitatnantucket.org) accepts these new or gently used items, including furniture, household appliances, and building materials.

Greeting Cards

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children will accept greeting cards — used or new ones that you just never got around to sending. Children at the hospital will attach new backs to the cards to create new cards, which St. Jude’s sells on their website. The only cards you cannot send in are Hallmark, American Greetings, and Disney (for copyright reasons) and cards from other nonprofits.

Hand Sanitizer

Did you know that the EPA considers any unwanted hand sanitizer to be hazardous waste, mostly due to how flammable it is? While you can dispose of teensy amounts in your household garbage, don’t even think about dumping it down the drain. Instead, take it to a Hazardous Waste Collection event at the Public Works Administration Offices, located at 188 Madaket Road.

Instrument Strings

Terracycle’s free recycling program with D’Addario offers mail-in options for all types and brands of instrument strings, including electric guitar, bass, acoustic guitar, nylon, and orchestral strings, which they will properly recycle.

Kids’ Stuff

Poshmark and ThredUp aren’t just for big people’s clothing.

Do your kids have an entire menagerie of stuffed friends that need new homes? Consider donating them to other children for comfort in emergencies via Stuffed Animals for Emergencies.

Lightbulbs

LampMaster offers a light bulb recycling kit, complete with a prepaid shipping label so that you can send in CFL, LED, HID/HPS/Metal Halide and Incandescent light bulbs for proper recycling. They ship out recycling kits to Canada, the U.S. and its territories. Many retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Ikea, accept CFL light bulbs for recycling, simply contact your local retailer to see if they are a participating location.

Mascara Wands

Wands for Wildlife repurposes these used mascara wands for use by wildlife caregivers to brush ticks, dirt, and fly larva from orphaned or injured animals. The wands are suitable for this task because of their soft, fine bristles.

Mattresses

After the hassle of finding the perfect new mattress, you’re left with the daunting task of getting rid of your old one. Instead of just leaving it out on the street or dragging to the landfill, schedule a pickup with A Bedder World.

Medications

October 29 is Take Back Day — when the DEA urges all of us to get rid of no-long-needed prescription medications to help avoid misuse or overdoses. Do not flush or dump medications down the sink, where they find their way into waterways and, potentially, harm water creatures. If you miss Take Back Day, ask at your local pharmacy, or visit the DEA Diversion Control site for other disposal locations.

Motor Oil, Nail Polish Remover, and Paint

In the U.S., all Autozone and O’Reilly’s locations and some Walmarts accept used motor oil and oil filters free of charge. With paint, the EPA suggests you expose latex paint to air until it dries into a solid, or mix with shredded newspaper or kitty litter, let dry, and then dump in your household garbage. For all three of these, and including oil paint, visit a Hazardous Waste Collection event at the Public Works Administration Offices, located at 188 Madaket Road.

Pianos

Got a piano that you never really play taking up space in your living room? Piano Adoption accepts free pianos and keyboards. Just add a listing to their website and shoppers looking for a free piano in your area will contact you if they’re interested in purchasing. The buyer and seller then coordinate the exchange.

Prescription Pill Bottles

What to do with all those empty prescription pill bottles? While they’re ubiquitous in North America, they’re much needed in other countries. Matthew 25: Ministries accepts donations of empty plastic pill bottles for inclusion in shipments of medical supplies, according to its website m25m.org.

Prom Dresses

Local thrift stores are your first stop. But if not, try Becca’s Closet. When a high school student died in a car accident, her family and friends decided to carry on with her incredible initiative to provide prom dresses to anyone who needed one.

Sauce Packets

Clean out your kitchen’s designated takeout sauce packet drawer with Terracycle’s free sauce packet recycling program. They partnered with Taco Bell to offer free shipping labels so you can send in your empty sauce packets (all brands and types) to be properly recycled.

Socks

Smartwool’s “Second Cut” Project will recycle donated socks into dog beds. They will take any brand of socks. Retold Recycling provides a free and easy mail-in service for old socks that will then be donated to thrift stores, charities, recycling centers, and more for reuse or proper disposal.

Shoes

Whether your shoes still have some spring in their step or their treads are truly dead, there are organizations that will help you keep them out of the landfill.

Soles4Soles will find feet somewhere in the world that need your gently used shoes. And you can ship your donation for free!

• OneWorldRunning puts still-usable athletic shoes to work helping military recruits and athletes around the world.

• More Foundation Group magically turns donated shoes into reforestation projects and co-op farming initiatives around the world. Get a box and start collecting — all free!

• HavASole, whose founder grew up in a shelter without good shoes, will get your shoes to organizations around the US.

• It’s From The Sole puts your old shoes on the feet of marginalized people around the world.

• GotSneakers? is an organization that says it will pay you to clean out your shoe closet. Send away for a postpaid bag, fill it, and your still-good sneakers will be given to someone who can use them and your no-good sneakers will be recycled.

• TerraCycle will take pretty much any footwear (no in-line skates, please) but their program isn’t free. Nonetheless, it’s a great way to do a footwear drive at your school or church and ensure shoes aren’t going to the dump.

• Use your ASICS shoebox to ship back old or unwanted shoes for free.

And for any shoes that are still usable, don’t forget Take-It-or-Leave-It, the Seconds Shop, and other local thrift stores.

Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Some manufacturers, including First Alert, offer mail-back services where you can send your old detectors, you only have to pay the postage. Curie Environmental Services and EZ on Earth offer their own mail-in recycling services for these life saving electronics for a fee.

Toothpaste Tubes

Tom’s of Maine has a first-of-its-kind tube that can be recycled in home recycling bins – including the cap. Parent company Colgate-Palmolive says it will share technology with others but, thus far, Tom’s is the only brand you can toss in the recycle bin.

Wedding Dresses

Is your wedding dress taking up too much space in your closet? You can make someone else’s big day memorable and make some extra money by selling it through stillwhite.com. You pay a one-time fee, post some photos and videos of the dress, and get connected with potential buyers all through the website.

Vinyl Records

If your vinyl records are starting to sing a sorry tune, donate them to any local thrift/secondhand store. However, if they are damaged beyond use, consider using them for decorative crafts.

Yoga Mats

Yoga mats that still have some life left can be used for people or pet beds at shelters. But if your mat has truly hosted its last downward dog, put it to rest. Terracycle offers a Sporting Goods Zero Waste Box starting at $142 that you can use to ship your yoga mat and other sporting equipment for proper disposal.