Can We Recycle the Old Electric Space Heater?

How do I get rid of my old space heater? That is a valid question brought up by tons of people who want to throw away their old space heater. It may become obsolete, too old, or may not be functioning correctly anymore. There are many space heaters in the market, such as Bionaire, Delonghi, Delux, Quartz heater, Honeywell, Vornado, and Duraflame portable space heaters with a programmable adjustable thermostat. Through this article, we will discuss the proper ways of getting rid of your old heater. 

The Space Heater’s Material

Firstly, it is essential to figure out what you used material to manufacture your space heater. In most cases, plastic is used to make them. But, there can be some exceptions. For instance, the brand, Dr. Infrared Heater, designs heaters made using wood with efficient thermostat control and automatic climate control to regulate their heating capacity. Other than that, some heaters can get very hot, entirely made of metal. 

Usually, you can find space heaters that are made using a mixture of materials. Individual components are made using plastic, while the remaining may be made of metal. If you find that your particular heater is a mixture of different materials. It will carry out your disposal decision based on the majority’s material. Alternatively, you can try disassembling your heater and dividing the other materials. But that becomes problematic and requires too much work. 

There are instances where space heaters may consist of hazardous matter that requires appropriate recycling.

Non-hazardous:

Usually, space heaters are manufactured using safe materials. You can dispose of them quickly. Typically, they consist of wood, metal, and plastic. However, the elements used for heating can fall under questioning.

For instance, infrared heaters generate warmth with the use of glowing red heating elements. At first glance, it may seem that this may consist of harmful matter. Luckily, infrared heating elements are manufactured using ceramic or quartz. Both materials can be considered harmless. Ceramic heaters consist of ceramic heating elements too, which should also not be alarming.

Hazardous:

If you own a heater that uses oil that you should not drain out, you must get rid of it appropriately. Or else, it could contribute to oil pollution, which has been impacting the environment immensely. A single liter of oil can pollute one million liters of water.

Oil pollution causes disastrous effects on water because it covers the water surface in a thin layer. This layer restricts oxygen from reaching the animals and plants living under the water.

That is why you should always steer clear of just throwing your old oil heater in your household trash.

This fact applies to all sorts of fuel-powered heaters, particularly diesel and kerosene heaters. And gas heaters such as butane or propane heaters.

It would be best if you burned all of the remaining fuel in your heater before you threw it away. Portable gas tanks are used as an energy source in Propane heaters typically. So, there will be no remaining gas.

However, diesel and kerosene heaters need to be refilled directly inside the heater. Therefore, it is necessary to empty the fuel into another container and utilize it elsewhere. Or ensure that it is consumed. It is vital for home heating appliances or panel heaters to guarantee no residual energy left when throwing away your fuel-powered heater.

Disposal Methods of Different Space Heaters

Since we have covered the fundamentals of waste disposal, we look into the actual removal of space heaters. It is a very straightforward process. Here we have a brief guide for disposing of every heater type.

These heaters are built using plastic mainly. They have electronic circuit boards inside that can be either left inside or be taken out. For maximum safety, it would be best to leave them as is.

Since infrared heaters use heating components made of quartz or ceramic and are composed of plastic themselves, you can toss them in your home’s garbage. 

These heaters generate heat using a thin wire made of metal. Current begins flowing through this wire, which causes it to heat up. Therefore, there are no complicated heating elements or electronics in such heaters.

These heaters are usually available in gadget stores and cheap electronic stores. Since electric heaters lie in an affordable price range, they are entirely manufactured with plastic, allowing them to be thrown into your house’s trash.

Ceramic heating elements are used to make ceramic heaters. A majority of the mid-price range is ceramic heaters. For instance, if you try purchasing a space heater with Amazon, you will frequently come across ceramic heaters.

You can also throw these heaters into your household trash because they do not contain any harmful substances. 

This heater is the hardest to get rid of out of the lot. Oil-filled heaters spread their heat around their metallic bodies. These bodies are sealed and filled with oil, making it necessary to use big machinery to get rid of the fat inside.

That is the reason behind the hazardous nature of these heaters. You can not simply toss them in your house’s garbage. Instead, you have to visit a dangerous waste disposal site and let them deal with it.

Fuel-powered heaters like Kerosene heaters also fall under the hazardous waste category, especially if they still have some fuel inside.

But, if you own a propane heater or similar gas-powered heaters, you can usually throw them in your regular trash. Since these heaters are powered using outer gas tanks, there is no gas present in the heater. Plus, they are mostly made with plastic.

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Final Thoughts

In most cases, you can get rid of your electric space heater by throwing it in the regular trash. For example, infrared heaters and ceramic heaters can be disposed of in your home’s garbage because their heating elements use harmless materials. But, if you own a metal heater, then the proper way would be to take it to a scrap dealer or particular waste disposal. Other than that, you should take your heater to a hazardous waste disposal depot if it is an oil-filled one.