How to Dispose of Safety Razor Blades?

Conventional disposable razors and cartridge razors are wasteful compared to safety razors that use standard inexpensive double-edge razors. These razors are made from incredibly thin sheets of metal and are very easy to manufacture.

However, because they’re so sharp, you do need to exercise caution when disposing of them.

Never Throw Naked Blades into the Bin

Without exception, you should never throw a naked or uncovered blade into a normal bin without covering it up. All rubbish is disposed of mechanically in the UK so injury to others is absolutely minimal, but still, it’s always best to wrap blades up first.

You can do this by wrapping standard A4 paper or cardboard around the blades and sticking it with tape.

Recycle

It’s always best to check with your local authority but wrapped blades will usually be recyclable at your local scrap metal recycling centre.

Manufacturers such as Gilette have started to offer recycling schemes due to public pressure on disposable products in the health and beauty industries.

It’s important to remember that whilst cartridges and disposable razors may be recyclable via these schemes, they’re still manufactured from plastics in the first place (not all of them are recyclable). Safety razors, on the other hand, are incredibly thin sheets of metal. They’re much more sustainable to manufacture in the first place compared to disposable razors or cartridges

Keep Them

Razor blades are very thin and you could easily just keep them in a jar or other container. It would take a decade of shaving to fill any reasonably sized tin. You might even find a use for them, in DIY, the garden or you could even use them to build a sculpture. If you collect enough, you could take them to a blacksmith and commission them to make you some sort of steel ornament!

Use a Blade Bank or Sharps Container

A blade bank is a small tin you can place used razor blades in before securing it and throwing the entire container safely into the bin. They’re commonly used by carpenters, plumbers or other tradespeople that use a lot of razor blades.

You can also request a sharps container from a local pharmacy and take this back to them to dispose of as medical waste.