How to Recycle Your Sex Toy and Help Save the Planet

Everyone was in lockdown, and even if only a few streets away, our loved ones were off-limits. So it's absolutely no surprise to anyone that COVID-19 caused sex toy sales to skyrocket.

This trend placed a lot more battery-operated devices in our homes, which leads to the all-important question: When a sex toy has run its course, what's the environmentally friendly way of clearing out your bedside drawer? Have sex toy retailers jumped on the sustainability bandwagon to help with this problem?

People might dispose of toys after a breakup if they're painful mementos, such as ones purchased or used together, or for normal wear and tear. Regardless of the reason for saying goodbye to an old friend, how can a conscientious consumer responsibly dispose of their sex toy?

Well, there's a confusing array of advice and scant resources, but it is possible to make greener choices as the programs for sex toy recycling continue to evolve.

Sex toy recycling

The state of sex toy recycling is a bit disorderly. Many people don't know they have the option to recycle at all, let alone multiple options. The first step in sex toy recycling is getting people to make the choice, which Ness Cooper, a clinical sexologist and sex and relationship coach for the Sex Consultant website based in the United Kingdom, explained is not as easy as you might think.

"Because there's still a lot of shame and taboo around these products, they still get put in general waste bins hidden amongst garbage, so others aren't aware," she said.

For anyone who wants to skip the landfill, the options for sex toy recycling are slightly elusive, but do exist. Cooper, whose prior research involved contacting recycling centers about how to dispose of sex toys, found that if recycling centers provide an electrical disposal service, they will accept sex toys. It's important to note not every site takes electronic waste. If there are no resources in your ZIP code, mail-in options are a next step.

The options for sex toy recycling are slightly elusive, but do exist.

Two sex toy brands in Australia, Normal and My ilo, and Canadian company Come As You Are all have recycling programs where you can mail in your toy, regardless of whether it was purchased from these retailers. Sometimes, the brand pays for postage or offers store credit.

In the United States, Portland, Oregon-based retailer Scarlet Girl started a recycling program more than a decade ago that is still functional, offering a $10 product credit for an old vibrator trade-in. Eden Fantasies, based in Atlanta, recently launched a recycling program, Project Re-Vibe. As per the program's site, the company disassembles your toy and uses the pieces to build new toys. Before sending in, programs require you to remove a toy's batteries and properly sanitize your item.

Additionally, Cooper said: "If your sex toy still has life left in it, then finding social media sex toy swap sites or attending local fetish meets can be a good way to rehome unloved sex toys and even exchange them for cash or other unloved products."

How to make sustainable sex toy choices

Many people believe America's recycling system is flawed, with only 9 percent of the plastic in your recycling bin getting recycled. With this in mind, how can consumers make informed choices? Do sex toys have a place in sustainability?

Slowly but surely, brands are reaching for better materials to use in the making and packaging of their products. Amina Jeneyah, a copywriter for Ohhcean, a Danish company that makes sex toys out of ocean-bound plastic, explained the company's approach to using responsible materials to make their products.

"We have just begun, just like so many other industries," Jeneyah said. "You need that wake-up call and to learn how to approach the issue, what's to be done and how to do it."

'It's better to buy two products you thoroughly appreciate instead of 100 products you don't really enjoy that much.'

As brands evolve to make environmentally friendly choices, consumers can select toys with durability.

"As a consumer, you can work on getting into the mindset of 'it's better to buy two products you thoroughly appreciate instead of 100 products you don't really enjoy that much,'" Jeneyah said.

Cooper further recommended toys made of higher-quality materials, such as silicone, glass or metal. She explained that some materials, like jelly, break down at accelerated rates, causing you to need a replacement sooner. Note that human-made materials such as silicone can take up to 500 years to break down.

You also want to watch for sex toys that contain phthalates, which are considered a probable human carcinogen and pose risks to aquatic ecosystems. For the most part, jelly-like rubber and PVC toys are the classes that most commonly contain phthalates. Jelly toys are also porous and have a greater risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) when shared between partners, so there are numerous perks to skipping toys made from this material.

When to dispose of your toy

Sometimes, even the most beloved sex toys need to go. But how do you know when it's time?

"Porous sex toys will often start to degrade sooner than nonporous, and some will show by either crumbling or the material starts to feel slimy and sweaty," Cooper explained. "If this happens, no amount of cleaning will save the sex toy and it should be binned."

If your toys show any sign of cracks, you should dispose of them. Cracks in toys can be difficult to properly clean, thus trapping bacteria; cracks and fissures with trapped bacteria can lead to bacterial vaginosis or yeast infections. If you see frayed wires or damage to the battery compartment, it's time to let that toy go as it could potentially be dangerous.

Cooper recommended that if you can no longer clean leather products properly, it's time to discard them. She stressed that it's always best to err on the side of caution with bodily fluids and not share your toy with multiple partners. If a toy has come into contact with someone else's fluids, you should properly sanitize it before use.

"Some materials or textures can be prolonged by proper care and cleaning," she added. "Using condoms or nitrile gloves over some shapes may help prevent damage to them."

The state of sex toy sustainability is slowly starting to grow.

"The change is happening already, and it's really exciting to be part of it," Jeneyah said.

After all, we now live in a world where the first biodegradable bullet vibrator now exists: the Blush Gaia Eco Bullet Biodegradable Recyclable Vibrator. Recycling as a whole system is due for changes. As far as individual brands go, there is a huge need for both pleasure products for a better planet and options to discard them sustainably. But the good news is that companies and customers are beginning to take notice.