Porcelain: how, where to dispose and recycle

Find collection stations closest to your home and learn how to pack porcelain for proper disposal

Porcelain

Image: Porcelain, by Alexandre Valdivia on Unsplash

Porcelain is a product made from white ceramic, waterproof, translucent and white. However, it distinguishes itself from other ceramic products for its glass aspect, transparency, resistance, complete absence of porosity and sound. Porcelain is basically composed of clay, quartz, kaolin and feldspar.

In addition to being present in the composition of containers, porcelain is also used to make pans, dishes and other household objects.

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Porcelain recycling

Porcelain recycling is possible; however, their recyclability is not always a guarantee. Porcelain recycling depends on the abundance of raw materials (usually sold by weight), on market demand and on the protection of legislation.

Porcelain objects have difficult recyclability, diversity of compositions, bad market, undervalued scrap and unfeasible energy reuse. However, most porcelain materials are durable, meaning they could be reused.

Environmental impacts of porcelain

The main environmental impacts generated in the production of porcelain include occupational diseases (silicosis); accidents (cuts); extraction of natural resources used as raw material and in obtaining energy for manufacturing; in addition to the increase in the greenhouse effect (5% of the world's CO2 comes from the cement industry). Therefore, it is important to prioritize the reuse and recycling of porcelain over its disposal.

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How to dispose or recycle porcelain

Reuse is always the best destination for porcelain. However, if reuse is not possible, you must recycle or guarantee landfill.

Look for collection points near your home that recycle porcelain materials. However, if you cannot find collection points that collect this type of waste, you will need to send the porcelain to common landfills. To do this, wrap the material in newspaper or cardboard and place it in a plastic bag, to avoid breakage during transport.

What if the porcelain breaks to pieces?

If the porcelain has broken into pieces - and you have not been able to send it to recycling or reuse it - remember to pack the porcelain pieces correctly.

If the shards of porcelain are small, you can use a PET bottle to pack them. To do this, remove the label from the PET bottle and dispose of it with other recyclable plastics. Then cut the bottle in half, insert the broken pieces of porcelain, use the top of the bottle to cap the container and place it inside a bag. Try to use gloves, a shovel and a broom so as not to get hurt.

As we do not always have PET bottle packaging at home (which is why it is good to leave some in reserve), it is possible to use carton packs such as juice and milk carton packs or resistant plastic packs with a lid, such as powdered chocolate. To use the carton packs, you need to cut them in half and use the same method as the PET bottle - stapled to ensure that the pack does not open midway.

The problem is that the carton packs are not transparent, which makes it impossible for street cleaners and cooperative workers to see the internal contents of the disposal. So give preference to transparent and resistant packaging when disposing of broken porcelain and, if there are no recycling stations for voluntary delivery that receive it, send it to the common landfill.

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