How do I dispose of.......?

Question

........a broken hair straightener??? The cord split, leaving the wire exposed.

If I just throw it in the everyday garbage bin, will that be hazardous to the environment? What if I wrap it in plastic, cloth, etc..? Is there a safe way to dispose of this, without making a trip to some obscure recycling plant?? (I'm just a kid.)

Answer 1

OK, lets go about this realistically.  There is nothing in your hair straightener that is hazardous to the environment--in a legal sense.  Some could argue that the plastics are hazardous, or that the coatings on the metals are hazardous, yet these are a stretch.  Chromium coatings are not good to have in the landfill, yet you probably have a brass / zinc coating on yours.  Many landfills have techniques of separating metals out of the garbage, as they are of considerable value.

If you are really interested, call your landfill and ask if they have such techniques available.  Other than that, I wouldn't be overly concerned with it.

Answer 2

just put it in the trash

Answer 3

If all that's broken is the cord, then it can easily be fixed.

Bring it into a local electronics repair shop, or just fit it yourself with some electrical tape.

Answer 4

Unless you can get it to a recycler you should just throw it away.  Adding more plastic cloth etc just puts more material in the landfill.  How about taking it to class and have your teacher discuss with the class what to do with it and if no one has a solution talk about how to get your community to get a local recycler.

Don't try to fix it.  Those wires carry 120 volts and you use it near the sink. A bad job could kill you.