Donate or Recycle Used Legos

Where Can I Recycle or Donate Used Legos?

“What do I do with all our great Lego toys we don’t use? Can I donate Lego pieces if they are all mixed up? Can I recycle used Legos?” Well, here’s the answer. Most thrift shops don’t accept mixed Legos to avoid the hassle of sorting through them, making sets that are usable, and then distributing them among the needy. Also, you might not know that Legos cannot be recycled and they can have a bad effect on the environment if they end up in landfills. So what can you do with that huge box of Legos that is collecting dust under your bed or in your attic? Well, you can donate them, of course! Just dump in a bag and put in a box, and send to the address above!

Why Donate Used or New Legos to Brick Recycler?

BrickRecycler.com accepts Lego donations of all kinds, whether they are old or new sets, complete or incomplete. We then send these toys off to their new homes where they will be loved all over again. Many schools in low-income areas, foster care programs, hospitals, and other organizations are also in need of Lego sets but don’t have the money to buy them. Most of these great causes only need Lego bricks in small amounts, so we try not to overwhelm them – we organize all the Lego donations based on the actual need of the organizations to make sure each piece is cherished the way it deserves to be loved.

When Should I Donate Used Legos?

Any day can be “Earth Day,” not just April 20th. You can also make any day of the year “spring cleaning” day. It’s fun to declutter your home, save the environment, and spread joy all at the same time by sending your used Legos sets any day of the year! Donate used Legos or tell others about Brick Recycler. We rely heavily on word of mouth so if you add a link to this site or connect with us on social media, you are helping out in a massive way!

How Brick Recycler Came into Existence?

BrickRecycler.com was born after we did a study, calling over 40 thrift shops, libraries, and charitable organizations throughout the US and found that most thrift shops do not accept mixed up LEGO pieces. If people decide to donate used Legos and drop them off anyway, the thrifts just dump them in recycling bins or in the trash. That is a waste of perfectly good Legos.

Legos Can’t Be Recycled – Donate Them Instead!

We also called every curbside recycling center covering the top 30 metro areas in the US. Sadly, we found that Legos are not recyclable at any of these. The specific reasons varied. Here are a few reasons they gave:

Contain ABS as well as other mixed plastics and rubber.
Don’t contain any recycling symbols.
Are not considered “containers.”
Are “toys.”
Are far too small to be mechanically sorted.
May include electrical elements, wires, batteries, or magnets.

Why You Should Choose Brick Recycler?

BrickRecycler.com accepts mixed up or complete LEGO toy sets and pieces (bricks, sets, figures, etc.), organizes them and distributes them to kids who will use, cherish, and learn from them with passion. We currently only accept the Lego brand of toys. So don’t hesitate and donate used Legos to us today!

So if you’ve outgrown your Lego collection, instead of storing these bricks under your bed hoping they will be reused by your grandkids or dumping them in the trash, simply choose to donate used Legos and send your used or new pieces to us at the address mentioned above. Lego packing tips can be found here.

BrickRecyler.com has donated hundreds upon hundreds of pounds of Legos to multiple organizations and individuals including Haitian children, orphans in Zimbabwe, LEGO clubs, foster child programs, and so on.

How You Can Help?

Boy Scout, Girl Scout troops, teens, and schools have in the past conducted Lego drives as a great community service project and sent all the donations to us! Amazing right? You too can encourage people to declutter their homes and donate used Legos, pass awesome toys on to the less fortunate, and save the environment, all at the same time. This is the best example of paying it forward!

Donate Legos Today!

BrickRecycler.com is still accepting donations of new and used Lego sets and pieces (complete or not). We will soon be adding links to places where can donate other toys as well.

If you are a 501 (c)(3) organization that needs Legos, please contact us at the email address mentioned above. Thanks for spreading so much joy!

For Your Reference

The following are just some of the curbside recycling program metro areas we contacted to see if they accepted Legos in their plastic recycling, and none of them did:

NY, NJ, PA

CA: LA, Long Beach, Anaheim, San Francisco, San Jose

TX: Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington

IL: Chicago, Elgin, Naperville

DC, VA, MD, WV

FL: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach

PA, NJ, DE, MD: Philadelphia, Camden, Wilmington

MI: Detroit, Warren Dearborn

WA: Tacoma, Seattle

MN, WI: Minneapolis St. Paul, Bloomington

GA: Atlanta

NH, MA: Newton, Boston, Cambridge

CA: Riverside, Ontario

AZ: Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale