How do you dispose of your damaged parts

Just wondering how do you dispose of your damaged parts. When I receive a large job lot of parts I invariably receive damaged parts which in my opinion are not worthy of selling on here. So my problem is not just what should I do with them? I don't feel I can sell them on but at the same time do not want to just throw them in recycling!!!
Any ideas????

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  • I've been stocking up. Want to eventually put them on e-bay but haven't found the time to so they just keep piling up. We give away damaged minifigure items to kids we know. They love it!
  • edited October 2019 Vote Up0Vote Down
    A proper burial with all the rites, including the Danish national anthem, perhaps? :)

  • @firestar246 could you actually sell them on ebay? But then I suppose as they are clearly mark damaged I could - I have seen someone selling their husband on there once so I suppose anything goes :D
  • I usually give parts not worthy of selling to a friend's children (they're thrilled to play with mucked up parts), and truly aggregious ones go into the recycle bin... :-)
  • Actually, Lego bricks can't be recycled easily, so they go directly to the landfill:

    "The company does share that its bricks are made with #7 plastic, which is classified as “other” plastic. Many plastic toys fall into this category, and they are all tough to recycle. There are a few places that take #7 plastic through curbside recycling programs, including Davis, California, and Binghamton, New York. It is more likely that your local recycling center will take #7 plastic, although this is still rare. (...) One important note: Even if your recycling center says it takes #7 plastic, make sure you read the fine print. Many will only take bottles, jars and other containers made with #7 plastic."

    https://recyclenation.com/2015/02/how-to-recycle-legos/
  • I usually go a mix of ways described by WESTIEKATH and Calibrick. Either I give them just to kids in family or of friends. Or I collect 5 kg of them and sell them at Ebay as "damaged, discolored, sratched and unwashed items, but still in a condition to be played with". I only sort these items out which are really damaged that you cannot use them (broken, missing tubes, etc.). But all others with bit marks, scratches, discoloring, painting, etc. are in the box. And the boxes are always sold as a Auction (not fixed price) with a final price of 20 to 40 € per 5 kg box within Europe. That's incredible high, but I guess the people use them for Kindergarten, schools, shops, etc. where kids can play with but do not really take care about the parts.
    That's my experience and I am happy with this that they are still reused and not filling the landfill (at least for now :-)).
  • We donated a huge pile to the local Beaver Cubs last year, they really appreciated it.
  • @OliS that's great thank you.
  • @Pikka I'm in Southern California, our recycling actually does process them, fortunately for me... it sounds like for others in the US that may not be an option though, which is truly a bummer to see! :-(
  • Been seeing so many conflicting accounts on LEGO recycling, but most the same as this:
    https://recyclenation.com/2015/02/how-to-recycle-legos/ @Pikka just read this one- :/
    and have investigated ABS plastic recycling- apparently some centers recycling and others simply disposing because of difficulty recycling the mix of plastics. May end up in the landfill even when tossed in the Recycle bin.
    Now, how sellers will handle the "new" formulation of plant-based bricks with regular/old when reselling...Just waiting for the conundrum.
    Best to donate, re-Use (isn't this what we are All about!) or take advantage of LEGO's new Give-back program.
  • LEGO has a give-back program? Tell me more!!! :-)
  • @Calibrick , very surprising news! Tried this link I shared below ( we are on the article right now!) but doesn't bring up the article on the LEGO Replay Program...and, won't let copy and paste...Hmmmmm
    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lego-group-pilot-program-070000898.html
    Wondering who are the workers who will sort/categorize, what cleaning process they will use and importantly, what will they do with unusable- do they have a recycling contractor who will be taking those?
    Says that you can log in and print a shipping label to send FREE to them. They will process and give to organizations already chosen to receive bulk of LEGO for play, ie. Big Brothers, Big Sisters
  • Hmmm I wonder if you have to be a Yahoo! member to get to it? My husband is, I'll ask him to log into his account and then try the link, I am super curious! :-)
  • @Calibrick just did a google search of "Lego give back program" and got a Cnet site that didn't allow cut and paste either.
    https://www.cnet.com/news/lego-wants-you-to-donate-your-bricks-to-childrens-charities/
    but here it is...
    off by some on the charities: Boys and Girls Club of Boston, Teach for America...

    there is a vp of environmental issues at TLG who has spent 3 years+ building this program, no doubt from the problem of what to do with all the LEGO in the world...
  • One thing about the give-back Scott and I have discussed:
    You Know the weapons will be discarded...oh, so many weapons discarded...
    but what about all these figures and sets that use weapons...
    Name 3 genres that don't///
  • Desiree, Scott, the cNET link works, woot! It also links to LEGO's official news release for what appears to be the pilot of this program, which is located at https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news/2019/october/lego-replay/.

    This definitely appears to be a great cause and far superior to my previous recycling of super-aggregious stuff - and it's free for us!

    Below is LEGO's press release:

    LEGO REPLAY

    October 8, 2019: Today, The LEGO Group announced the launch of LEGO® Replay, a pilot program that will accept any and all previously used LEGO bricks and donate them to children’s non-profits in the United States. The effort is a collaboration with Give Back Box, Teach For America, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston.

    The process is simple: collect any loose LEGO bricks, sets, or elements, place them into a cardboard box, and visit www.lego.com/replay to print out a free UPS shipping label. The package will be sent to the Give Back Box facility, where each brick will be sorted, inspected by hand, and given a rigorous cleaning. This process is possible because LEGO bricks are made from high-quality, durable materials, designed to be used for generations.

    “We know people don’t throw away their LEGO bricks,” said Tim Brooks, Vice President, Environmental Responsibility at the LEGO Group. “The vast majority hand them down to their children or grandchildren. But others have asked us for a safe way to dispose of or to donate their bricks. With Replay, they have an easy option that’s both sustainable and socially impactful.”

    Brooks and his team spent the past three years working on the project to ensure the process met the highest quality and safety standards and adhered to U.S. regulations. They then connected with Give Back Box, a charity dedicated to “recycling” 11 million tons of unused clothing, footwear, and other textiles that end up in U.S. landfills each year.

    “I am excited to join the LEGO Group in this pilot program,” said Monika Wiela, founder of Give Back Box. “Growing up in Poland, I didn’t have many toys as a child, so this collaboration is rather personal for me. What’s better than giving a child the gift of play? For us, the number of donations we receive is critical to a successful campaign, so we’ve made it as easy as possible for folks at home to send in their idle bricks.”

    Teach For America will receive the majority of the elements and will provide them to thousands of classrooms across the country.

    “Learning through play can have a tremendous impact on a child’s cognitive development. Through play, children develop fine motor skills, think creatively, and can learn how to problem solve through teamwork,” said Susan Asiyanbi, Teach For America’s chief operating and program officer. “But not everyone has access to such resources. LEGO Replay, and the instructional resources they provide educators, will help give more students access to this opportunity.”

    Bricks will also be sent to Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston for their after-school programs. Both non-profits can expect to receive the first shipments in November 2019. Once the pilot is complete in spring 2020, the LEGO Group will evaluate a possible expansion of the program.

    LEGO Replay is one of the many sustainable and philanthropic efforts the LEGO Group has announced in the past year. Recent efforts include Plants from Plants, LEGO Braille Bricks and LEGO Audio & Braille Instructions.

    For more information please contact:
    LEGO Group global press office: [email protected]
    Teach For America, Joseph Walsh, [email protected]
    Give Back Box, Monica Wiela, [email protected]
    Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, Bailey Snyder, [email protected]

    About the LEGO Group:
    The LEGO Group’s mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through the power of play. The LEGO System in Play, with its foundation in LEGO bricks, allows children and fans to build and rebuild anything they can imagine.

    The LEGO Group was founded in Billund, Denmark in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, its name derived from the two Danish words LEg GOdt, which mean “Play Well.” Today, the LEGO Group remains a family-owned company with products sold in more than 140 countries worldwide. For more information: www.LEGO.com.

    About Give Back Box:
    Give Back Box® is a social-enterprise company whose objective is to change the donation behavior of online retail shoppers and other donors. Created in 2012, it became the first program for online shoppers and other donors to give away unwanted items in a cost and hassle-free way.

    About Teach For America:
    Teach For America works in partnership with urban and rural communities in more than 50 regions across the country to expand educational opportunity for children. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding leaders to make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to end educational inequity.

    About Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston:
    Since its founding in 1893, Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston (BGCB) has been providing a safe haven filled with hope and opportunity, ongoing relationships with caring adults, and life-enhancing programs. The organization serves more than 14,000 young people, ages 6-18, in 11 Clubs and YouthConnect.
  • It varies quite a bit between: use as filler in MOCs, give to charity shop, sell by the Kg on Facebook marketplace.

    To be honest most of the time it tends to accumulate in boxes and bags in my office and I don't really get round to doing anything with it.

    I do use sub-standard longer 2 by X plates for organising my minifig body parts in my store though.
  • Thanks for all your comments - plenty to think about then :-)
  • I just put it in the bags for recycling.
  • They're not fit for recycling AFAIK. I just throw them in the trash.
  • Seems this time, the BrickOwl Forum is way ahead of the BL forum and has got it Right!
    The post on the BL forum about whether LEGO is recyclable completely ignored the response by "cycbuild" on 11.12.2019 about the GiveBack LEGO Replay program...print a label and ship for free.
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