I also have bi-weekly shots I give myself, so I have a sharps container for them. When my blade bank, a small on for the den, fills up, the used blades hit the sharps container.
Razor blade disposal?
- Thread starter DoomedCargo
- Start date
True. What would be your solution/suggestion for a safe disposal?
The point was not to send them to recycling centers where folks manually go through and sort materials.
In garbage they go then.
+1
Technically, they should be treated as a used syringe would. I know that I would be properly freaked out if I would happen to cut myself with a razor blade from unknown origins while working at a recycling plant.
I remember my grandpa telling me all about double edge razors.He insisted that the most important thing is to dispose of the old blades safely. Not necessarily because of the risks of disease, but because somebody could get hurt.
The blade bank needs to be just about impossible to open and the slit on top, just long and wide enough so that blades can be inserted safely, but not so wide as to let some blades out if, for example, an inquisitive 3 year old happens to get a hold of daddy's blade bank and decides to give it a good shake because it happens to make a cool noise. It also needs to be placed in the medicine cabinet on the bottom shelf, so that if your clumsy half awake self happens to drop the blade when inserting it into the bank, well, it falls into the sink. Not on your head/face/eyes. So, no blade banks on the top shelf.
When the bank is full. Toss the whole thing in the garbage. Don't empty it in the garbage bag. Think about what could happen if the garbage man picks up the bag in just the right way(or wrong way depending on how you se it) and proceeds to slice his hand open. (grandpa's dad was a garbage man).
We are used to putting out the trash and recycling and it just disappears. We sometimes forget that people (not machines) actually handle our trash with their (gloved) hands. Those jobs don't pay well, and, as it is unfortunately often the case with low pay/hard work jobs, it's safety last, not first. Kevlar gloves are just not always available.
... Sorry about the long post
...I think that I'm starting to become like my grandfather
...Now kids, get of my lawn!
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I read some early Gillette literature that said to burn your used blades. This didn't work well on a modern stainless steel blade I tested it on.
But seriously there should be a way to safely dispose of used blades somewhere where they naturally corrode over time.
But seriously there should be a way to safely dispose of used blades somewhere where they naturally corrode over time.
No, the metal should be recycled.
Whatever random aluminium can I have on hand at the time are where mine go.
Why not melt down the metal yourself and then sell the ore? Just kidding.
If you are really worried, I'd take it to a stone and dull it down until it has no edge.
If you are really worried, I'd take it to a stone and dull it down until it has no edge.
100% would do if I came into some money to buy a half decent smelting apparatus. I had thought that stainless steel melted at 3600'F but I was wrong, it's actually around 2500'F. Considering that aluminum melts at less than 700'C which is hard to get to, 1200'C odd for stainless seems nuts.
Stainless steel is worth a lot of money nowadays though. Not nearly as much as copper though.
I eat my used blades, just kidding
I went to the drug store and got a sharps container, I have a small blade bank in the den, when the one in the den gets full I empty it into the sharps container. In ten years when the sharps container is full I will take it back to the drug store and have them dispose of it.
Personally I'm very much for recycling, however, I do not feel blades should be inducted into the recycling stream. Although steps can be taken to secure a container full of blades, even the slight chance that it would become compromised is enough to prevent me from feeling comfortable with that route. Same goes for the garbage route. No matter the steps you take to secure the blades they will ALWAYS be a sharps hazard, no different that self administered needles and other biological waste. There are proper disposal protocols for this type of waste and I will do my part I following them. It's a very small inconvenience to pay in order to ensure no one gets hurt because I choose to shave the way I do.
I went to the drug store and got a sharps container, I have a small blade bank in the den, when the one in the den gets full I empty it into the sharps container. In ten years when the sharps container is full I will take it back to the drug store and have them dispose of it.
Personally I'm very much for recycling, however, I do not feel blades should be inducted into the recycling stream. Although steps can be taken to secure a container full of blades, even the slight chance that it would become compromised is enough to prevent me from feeling comfortable with that route. Same goes for the garbage route. No matter the steps you take to secure the blades they will ALWAYS be a sharps hazard, no different that self administered needles and other biological waste. There are proper disposal protocols for this type of waste and I will do my part I following them. It's a very small inconvenience to pay in order to ensure no one gets hurt because I choose to shave the way I do.
I drop mine into a glass jar filled with water. After a few months there's nothing but a red sludge at the bottom. I dry this out, mix it with eggs, flower, and chocolate chips. Form into balls and bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes or until done. Then I put them on a plate and into the fridge at work where the same person who steals my lunch takes them.
I am now actually curious if something along those "glass jar of liquid" lines is a good idea. Maybe something inside to help break down the stainless. It's not like they'd be marine grade stainless anyway.
Maybe I could get some rocket fuel oxidizer
.I wonder if a 50/50 mix of bleach and water would do the trick it melting away the stainless steel.
Just fill the jar with Coca-Cola, they'll be gone in no time.
It's got me thinking that it might be quite interesting to watch them slowly dissolve over time.
I cut a slot in the lid of an empty jalapeno jar. When its full (if I live that long) I will put tape over the slot and put it in the trash.
