Recycle Your Old Blinds and Shades

You just moved into a new house where the window treatments are worn and out of date. The dog chewed up your blinds or shades in your home and have to been replaced. Sound familiar? You have to replace your window treatments, but what do you do with the old ones? If you’re wanting to be responsible and recycle your old window treatments but don’t have a clue where to turn, the folks at Altra Home Décor here in Phoenix have come up with the following suggestions.

Best of All Scenarios

If your blinds or shades are in working order, the best thing is to donate them to a deserving person. Remember they may be old to you, but new to someone else. Here are some popular donation options:

• Habitat For Humanity Restore
• Salvation Army or Goodwill Stores
• Friends or Students

If there is no hope and your blinds and shades are broken or in bad shape, here are some tips on where to recycle or creative ideas of what to do with them.

Aluminum Blinds

Aluminum or metal blinds are the easiest window treatment to recycle because the infrastructure to recycle metals such as copper and steel and scrap yards is already in place. Before you take your aluminum blinds to the recycling center or scrap yard, you should remove all the strings, freeing the slats from the headrail. You may also want to give them a quick cleaning.

Wood, Faux Wood, or Woven Wood Blinds

Unfortunately, if your wood or woven wood blinds have been stained, painted, or treated or your faux wood blinds have PVC in them, they can’t be recycled. If they’re damaged, find a school or after-school program that might be able to use them for art projects. Or be creative and find some uses in your own home. Cut the slats into small pieces and use them to level furniture or use full slats line shelves, etc. Recycle the hardware.

Fabric Roman Shades and Draperies

If your old fabric roman shades or draperies are ripped or torn, use scissors and cut the fabric away from the hardware; then take the fabric to a clothing donation center like Salvation Army or Goodwill or to a school or after-school program for craft projects. Recycle the hardware.

Honeycomb or Cellular Shades

Honeycomb shades are typically made from polyester fabric, which is already made from recycled materials. Unfortunately, there is no technology available today to turn the fabric back into a usable item to be recycled again. The best thing to do is to cut the fabric off the headrail and take it to a school or after-school program for craft projects or try your hand at reusing the fabric yourself at home.

Use Online Resources

If all else fails and you are finding yourself running into walls on what do to with your old blinds and shades, use online resources, such as Earth 9ll, to find a recycling center near you.

Recycling Ideas in the Phoenix and Peoria, Arizona Area

Altra Home Décor is your source for window treatments, custom drapery, flooring, and more! We serve the greater Phoenix area, including Peoria, Sun City West, Anthem, Buckeye, Glendale, and Scottsdale, with a showroom in Surprise. Stop by our locally owned store to view our full-size window treatment displays and sample books. Contact us today to schedule an in-home design consultation!