It’s great that you are about to welcome a new microwave oven for your kitchen. But the concern is what can you do with the old one. Well, your concern is fair enough because it’s quite a big deal to get rid of heavy electric appliances like an oven. However, we are going to answer this question- what to do with old microwave ovens?
Read along to know everything about microwave disposal.
3 useful ways to handle the disposal of your old microwave oven
If you want to store your microwave away or dump it, we recommend you think again. Because here are some better ways to deal with an old microwave. We are talking about three R- recycling, repurposing, and reusing. Let’s go for some details.
Recycle your old microwave ovens
You might think it’s difficult to recycle a microwave because recycle bins are made of disposal wrappings such as plastics and cardboard. In contrast, microwave ovens consist of toxic materials like cadmium, lead chromium, mercury, or beryllium. So, it might bug you whether it is an environmentally-friendly option or not. Well, once you know exactly how to recycle your microwave oven, you’ll get to see that it’s one of the smartest solutions.
Keep these tips in your head while recycling your microwave oven –
- Make sure that your oven is unplugged, dry, and completely cool.
- To avoid tripping on the wires and cords, tie them up properly.
- Take the removable parts apart (that you think are useful) before you recycle.
If you ask, ‘where to get rid of the old microwave near me?’ Well, it’s up to the area you live in. But no matter where you do live, you should choose the right recycling outlet to deal with your old microwave.
You can check out –
- Appliance Recyclers: Check for dedicated recycling centers near you and talk to them about whether they accept microwave ovens.
- Appliance Retail Stores: Consult with the appliance retail stores in your area if they take old ovens.
- Appliance Repair Shops: If the two options aren’t suitable for you, go to any appliance repair shop near you. Repair shops tend to accept old microwave ovens because they can fix and resell the ovens.
Repurpose your old microwave ovens
Repurposing offers to use your old microwave oven in a completely different approach. Let’s see the different ways to repurpose your microwave oven.
- Display the rare items: Do not try this by yourself. Consult with an electrical engineer and repurpose the oven to display rare items like rare action figures or antiquities.
- Convert your old microwave oven into a bread box: Sometimes, you may not like to keep your bread in the fridge; you can keep it in the old oven instead. This is how you can have a bread box from the old microwave oven you were about to throw away.
- Repurpose the old oven into a fancy library: Sounds funny? But you will love your library later. To make things newer, you can repaint the outside of the oven. But make sure the oven is dry and properly cleaned before you place books in it.
Reuse your old microwave ovens
You can take the oven apart and reuse the useful parts of it. Here’s a shortlist of which parts of a microwave oven are useful. Let’s check it out.
- Fuse
- Power code
- Transformer
- Waveguide
- Light bulb
- Motor
- Magnetron (that’s a dangerous component)
- Magnets
You better talk to an electrical engineer before doing this because he can tell exactly which parts of your oven are still useful.
Final verdict on what to do with old microwave ovens
By now, you know what to do with old microwave ovens. So, please think before you throw it away. Repurposing, however, is my favorite way to deal with an old microwave oven. It seems more useful than simply disposing of the oven.