How to Recycle Your Kitchen
Once home owners realize how much they’re really paying to have their old kitchen demolished and thrown away, they start to look at eco-friendly options that can earn them money (or tax benefits instead). See why more and more people are wondering how to recycle their kitchen— chances are it’s the right move for you too.
First off: Why Recycle your kitchen?
Recycling your kitchen can be a little more work than just paying your contractor to take sledgehammer to it. But, the pay-offs are immense (and no, not just for the envrionment).
The environment:
The deconstruction business has been booming for a few years now. We are building more houses, shops, outposts, sunglass cabanas... you get it. The more we construct and renovate, the more we demolish. And as we demolish, we contribute more and more waste to our landfills. How much waste are we talking? Well, as of a 2019 estimate, construction and deconstruction materials take up over 4300 acres at a depth of 50 feet. In other words, that's over 3 billion square yards of landfill each year. And we're not getting that land back. Want to feel even worse about yourself and the Earth? Check out these 14 demolition facts.
It’s actually cheaper (even profitable):
Most people don’t realize that it costs money to throw things away. Check your contractor’s invoice: the labor involved in demolishing your kitchen isn’t free. Neither is the dumpster you need to rent to transport your materials. (A 6 yard dumpster in Chicago, for example, will cost you at least $290 minimum).
It’s rare that the eco-friendly option also provides the most savings, but that’s the case here. You’ll need to pay a little more to have your contractor (or better yet, a non-profit deconstruction crew) extract your kitchen for re-use, but you avoid disposal costs plus tax benefits, or cash from the sale of your materials.
When our contractor told us that we would have to pay for demolition of the kitchen and also pay for the dumpster, I knew there had to be some other way. My friend recommended Murco Recycling. They came, measured the space, put it up for auction, and on a scheduled date, out my old kitchen went. We were shocked at how smooth the process went. Best of all, it was a win-win situation for us. We made money on a kitchen we were going to get rid of anyway AND we didn’t have to pay for the demolition and dumpster! - Becky K, 7/15
Your community needs your materials
You may not realize it, but a lot of your neighbors would kill to have the things you no longer need. Those cabinets may not be your style, but they would be a welcome improvement to someone else who otherwise couldn’t afford them. If you have materials in great condition, there is no reason some else can’t benefit.
How to Recycle Your Kitchen
Although most used building materials are able to be recycled (like floors, doors, windows and more), kitchens are the most common because there is high demand for cabinetry and appliances.
Step 1: Get it Appraised
You can either donate your kitchen to a 501(c)3 charity or work with a salvage broker who will resell it for you and share the profits. Before you decide you want cash in pocket, send an appraisal expert who specializes in deconstruction a list of your materials (we like: The Green Mission). The will give you the estimated fair market donation value. Since you can write off the full appraisal value of the materials, it’s often a lot less stressful than selling materials outright— you may have to sell things for less than you like since renovation timelines are always changing and you might need to get rid of it ASAP for pennies.
Step 2: DECIDE IF YOU’LL GO DIY
If you’ve got a few like-new appliances and nothing but time, there’s no harm in you trying to sell your materials yourself on platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. If your selling a whole complete kitchen, however, you may want to loop in an expert who has a qualified market for these types of materials. If you’ve decided to donate, try to look for a non-profit that specializes in diverting used building materials who can accept the donation. Bonus points if they can remove it for you too.
Step 3: SCHEDULE A REMOVAL
Deconstruction (removing materials for reuse) is more time consuming and advanced than demolishing your kitchen. See if your contractor will take it out for you for the same price as demo, otherwise, look for non-profit’s who provide deconstruction training to disenfranchised workers (if you’re near Chicago, we like the Evanston Rebuilding Exchange)— they will take it out for a bargain. Managing and coordinating a removal and pick-up can be a big undertaking. It’s just another thing that might make working with a pro salvage broker more appealing.
Step 4: Reap the benefits
Pat yourself on the back: you just earned money on materials you were prepared to pay throw away, made reusable materials available to your community, and divert tons of awesome materials from the landfill.
Ready to Recycle?
Submit your materials to Murco & we’ll handle the removal, donation or sale of all of your old kitchen faster than you can say: “my new cabinets are here”.