The short answer is YES! Coffee makers can, indeed, be recycled. And so can toasters, blenders, instant pots, and every other small appliance that has a cord. Here are some options!
- Check out my list of small appliance recyclers. I just published a whole list of places where you can recycle coffee makers and other small appliances. The list covers the 50 largest cities in America, from Albuquerque to Wichita. Click here to find your city and see where you can recycle your coffee maker.
- Staples stores will recycle your coffee maker. Yep. They will. If there’s a Staples store near you, you can drop off your broken coffee maker there. They also recycle computers and office electronics. Sorry, but they won’t recycle any kitchen appliances other than coffee makers.
- Some Goodwill stores will recycle coffee makers and small appliances. Goodwill stores in some locations actually do recycle broken appliances. Chicago, Columbus, and Memphis are three places that I know of off the top of my head. Again, go to my list of small appliance recyclers and find your city. Goodwill might be listed as a recycler. I wrote more on this subject here.
- If your coffee maker still makes coffee, donate it! If you want to get rid of a working coffee maker for whatever reason, please donate it to Goodwill or any other local charity that sells second-hand goods. They want that stuff! It doesn’t have to work perfectly. You might think your coffee maker sucks, but someone else might think it’s just dandy. Plus, you’ll be supporting your local community with that donation.
And sometimes, you can mail your broken coffee maker back to the manufacturer!
I know of two companies that recycle their own coffee makers: Nespresso and Hamilton Beach. Hamilton Beach will recycle any of their wide range of products, so in that case, their recycling program isn’t limited to just coffee makers.
I learned all this by asking no less than EIGHTEEN different coffee maker manufacturers if they have a program for recycling coffee makers and other nonworking small appliances. Out of those 18 tweets, I got 7 replies. Only one of them was a definitive YES, and it came from Nespresso:
We do, indeed. Nespresso has invested considerable energies into our capsule recycling program and now, we’ll recycle your retired Nespresso machines. Simply call the Nespresso Club, 800.562.1465, for more information, and thanks for your interest in conservation.
— Nespresso USA (@NespressoUSA) November 5, 2018
Way to go, Nespresso! Not only do they have a recycling program, they also gave a Grade A response to my question.
Hamilton Beach, who ignored my tweet to them entirely, apparently does recycling, too. This page on the Hamilton Beach website gives details on where to mail your busted HB.
KitchenAid and Zojirushi were kind enough to reply and publicly state that they do not offer a recycling program. Cuisinart told me to contact customer service, which I did, and then they told me via email that they don’t recycle.
Keurig and OXO also advised me to call customer service, but I’m gonna give that a big fat NOPE. I ain’t got time to be navigating voice menus all day long.
Besides, I’m pretty sure that “call customer service” is just the PR rep’s way of saying “take a hike.”
Breville had an interesting response that may or may not be legit:
We are working on our global recycling initiative and plan to have information and answers on regional possibilities in the very near future, a top initiative.
— Breville USA (@BrevilleUSA) November 7, 2018
Let’s give Breville the benefit of the doubt. They could very well have a recycling program in the works, and that would be a really great thing to see. Maybe I’ll check in with them sometime next year and see if their “top initiative” is any closer to becoming reality.
For the record, here is the full tally of companies I contacted via Twitter and how they responded, if at all:
- Behmor (no response)
- Black+Decker (no response)
- Bonavita (no response)
- Breville (response: “working on it”)
- BUNN (no response)
- Capresso (no response)
- Cuisinart (response: no appliance recycling, which they made me contact customer service to find out – thanks, jerks!)
- Hamilton Beach (no Twitter response, but they do recycle appliances, as mentioned above)
- Kenmore (no response)
- Keurig (response: call customer service at 866-901-2739)
- KitchenAid (response: no appliance recycling)
- Krups (no response)
- Mr. Coffee, a.k.a. Newell Brands (no response)
- Ninja Coffee Bar (no response)
- Nespresso (response: YES, they will recycle your coffee maker! see above)
- OXO (response: call customer service at 800.545.4411 or email info@oxo.com)
- Russell Hobbs (no response)
- Zojirushi (response: no appliance recycling)
Based on the above, I guess we can conclude that most coffee maker manufacturers aren’t in the appliance recycling game. But kudos to Nespresso and Hamilton Beach for setting an example for other companies to follow.
In closing, thank you for at least being interested in recycling your coffee maker! Please do it. Use my list of small appliance recyclers. Go to Staples. Go to Goodwill. Use whatever local resources are available.
Even if it means making a special trip to a city drop-off site or a private recycling company, your effort is well worth it. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to rid yourself of all those other old electronic items you haven’t had the heart to toss into a landfill.
Thank you for this useful information. I will keep those manufacturers in mind, the ones that don’t recycle, when it comes time to buy a new product. Keep up the good work.
Staples doesn’t take coffee makers unless they’re Keurig. I was just told this by an employee when I tried to give them my old drip style coffee makers.