Can I recycle wire clothes hangers?

Question

I have about 50 of them. Can they be recycled?

Answer 1

No.

Metal cannot be recycled.

It is usually incinerated, which still releases toxins into the air.

But..recycling them would not work.

Answer 2

Yes,

I take my wire clothes hangers to my dry cleaner and they are very appreciative of it.

Answer 3

Yes, you can recycle those hangers! I took some (a lot) to a place that takes cans, scrap  metal, etc...the hangers don't pay anything but atleast they are disposed of in the proper way!

Answer 4

I have given hangers to any second hand store.  Sometimes they use them for hanging clothes on their sale racks and sometimes they use them to sell in a bundle

Also , my husband gets his shirts laundered and the cleaners accepts his hangers back too when he takes in his shirts each week.  They tell us they reuse them.

Answer 5

Clothes Hangers

Make wire hangers into seasonal wreaths by bending them into a circle and then gluing on seasonal items, such as leaves in the fall.

Use for storing ornaments that you hang on the tree.

Use for making a child's mobile.

Return clothes hangers to the dry cleaners so they can reuse them.

I’d see if the local charity shops could use the better quality ones.

I’d keep some wire ones around the house for those emergency prodding and poking situations that require a sturdy bit of thin wire - but that wouldn’t be suitable for giving away.

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8 Uses for Wire Clothes Hangersby Francesca Clarke on Sep 14th 2007 5:00PM

Filed under cars and transportation, fix-it, household hacks, kids, organization and storage, cleaning

While your new fall wardrobe may never see an old wire hanger, you probably still have some hiding in the back of your closet. Most of my clothes are hung (when they are hung!) on wooden or plastic hangers. The back of my closet, and admittedly, the floor, still overflow with old wire ones. It's time to put them to use.

Shoe hanger

Bend up each end of the hanger and it will nicely hold a pair of shoes. This is particularly useful for some of your nicer shoes that you don't want scuffed around on that hall closet floor. You'll need to allot them some closet space but it will keep them clean and organized.

Go fishing

I'm not suggesting you use an old wire hanger as a fish hook! You can use it to make a net. Bend the hanger into a circle and stretch old pantyhose around it. The children can take this to look for little fish in a stream, or sift out seashells at the beach.

Unlock car doors

While this is most successful on TV, it will still work on some older model cars. Stretch the hanger as long and straight as you can with a hook on the end. Reach down between the window and door until you feel the latch. Pull it up and you'll unlock the door.

If you've locked the keys in the car with the window slightly open you can use the hanger to fish them off the seat and bring them through the window.

Unclog drains

Wire hangers are great for unclogging drains, both toilet and sink. You can go fishing around in the drain and try to remove the obstruction.

Radio and TV antenna

I'm sure many college students are tinkering with their old TV, trying to get reception where it doesn't seem possible. Wire clothes hangers are great, and unlike regular antennas they can be manipulated in just the right way to optimize reception. Adding tinfoil will go a long way here too.

Mobile

This could be a really fun project for an older sibling to make for the new baby. Use the hanger as your base and attach string and decorations. Colorful ribbons, or bells and seashells would work well. You might also like to hang pictures of family and friends from the mobile. I know you don't need me to say it, but I just can't help myself: Make sure you secure everything really well so baby doesn't choke.

Bubble wand

This is another fun one for children. With your help the hanger can be bent into any shape and used as a bubble wand. Pour bubble soap into an old ice cream lid or other large shallow dish, dip the wand in and have fun.

Hang your clothes

While it sounds like wire hangers are a thing of the past, there really isn't any harm in using them on most of your clothes. It may distort the shape of a delicate sweater, but if you're like me, there are far more T-shirts than pretty sweaters in the closet, and wire hangers will do just fine for those.

Those are just a few of the uses for wire hangers. I spared you the slingshot and modern art, but I have to leave something for the comments. Let me know what uses you've found for the old hangers kicking around your house.

http://www.diylife.com/2007/09/14/8-uses...

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What to do with your wire hanger? Posted: Friday, August 24, 2007 4:16 PM by Daily Nightly Editor

by NBC News producers, Bita Nikravesh and Amber Payne

Many of you have responded to Roger O'Neil's "Greening of America" story last evening on the environmental impact of using cardboard hangers over wire.  Some of you want to know why wire hangers aren't recyclable.  The answer is, they are, but many of us do not recycle.  The best way to dispose of your wire hangers is to return them to your dry cleaner for re-use.  We have heard of a few cleaners who refuse to take them back, but if they are in good condition most will accept returns and then re-use them.

Unlike paper and plastic, there are no specially designated recycling bins for disposal of your used wire hangers, so many of us simply throw them away. This results in 3.5 billion hangers ending up in our landfills every year.

According to the National Cleaners Association (NCA),  if a wire hanger is returned to a dry cleaner in poor condition then that cleaner could send them to a scrap metal dealer or give them back to the supplier who may have other methods of disposal. The NCA also suggests that people concerned about this issue should make it a community project. Run a wire hanger drive or identify a place where your neighbors can gather them up and pass along to a scrap metal dealer.

The simplest solution? Try your dry cleaner first.  They might be happy to take them back.

http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archiv...

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Introduction

Chances are good you have more wire hangers around your house than you have clothes to hang on them. You can always drop them at a local Dry Cleaners and they will recycle them by using them on clothing again. However, there are also lots of things you can do with wire hangers to recycle them at home.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Steps

1Step OneGet ready for the next holiday using your extra hangers. Bend them to make wreaths and then decorate them with seasonally appropriate materials such as Fall leaves, paper Easter eggs or evergreen branches. Or cover your wreath with individually wrapped candies and tie on a small pair of scissors for guest to help themselves. Use hangers to store ornaments and other hanging decorations after the holiday is over.

2Step TwoUse hangers to help out house or garden plants. Bend the hanger to make a plant hanger for a pot, an archway for a vine to climb on or a support pole for a plant that needs it.

3Step ThreeMake things in arts and crafts using hangers. Hangers are great for making mobiles with and can be used to make frames for drawings and paintings. Another idea is to bend the hanger in the middle through the handle and then fold up each corner so it looks like an M. Use it has a holder for your hot glue gun or soldering iron.

4Step FourEncorporate a hanger into play. Use it as a large bubble wand when blowing soap bubbles. Take some to your next campfire for roasting marshmallows and hot dogs.

5Step FiveThink of a hanger as a tool next time you need to unplug a toilet or a drain. Also handy for helping you to reach things that are out of your reach or unlocking a car door.

6Step SixGet better reception on your television or radio using a recycled wire hanger as an antenna.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2105721_recycle-...

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Answer 6

Gordon P took the words right outta my mouth.  

=D

Answer 7

Yep, you can turn them into car antennas and fit them to Ford motor vehicles, just like they do in Manchester and other places where little a55holes destroy the original antennas.

Answer 8

I just filled a bag of wire hangers the other day that I'll offer on my local Freecycle group. I'm pretty sure somebody will want them, which would keep them out of the landfill.

If you want to check for a group in your area just go to http://www.freecycle.org/

Answer 9

These can be donated to your local shelter or  resale shop

Answer 10

I'm not sure but did you know that you MUST remove your caps from your water bottles before putting in the bins?  The caps are not recycled and won't be removed during sorting.  So if a bottle comes through with a lid, it's tossed.  Now I throw away all my lids.

Answer 11

You could re-use them.

That is better than recyling.

Answer 12

Put them in your blue recycling bin. If you don't have one, try offering them to cleaners. I took mine to church to use for the clothing drive we have.

Answer 13

Take them to your favorite cleaners.  They go through them like water and if that is where you got them, the cleaners would probably appreciate the return.  That's what I do.

Answer 14

They're usually steel wire, so should be recyclable.  If your town has a recycling program, they may take them in the regular pickup--call your local public works to check.  (Some towns, though, only collect metal food and beverage cans).  You can also usually drop them off at scrap metal recycling facilities.

Most drycleaners will take the wire hangers, as long as they're in good condition, and local thrift stores often need hangers.