How to Dispose of a Hair Dryer: Recycle, Donate or Trash

How to dispose of a hair dryer is simpler than it looks, but the curbside recycling cart is not the answer. A hair dryer is a small electrical appliance: a plastic shell around a motor, a fan, a coiled heating element, copper wire and a cord. Those metals are worth recovering, and the cord and motor can jam the machines at a recycling plant. The best home for an old or broken dryer is an electronics or small appliance drop-off, a scrap metal yard, or a donation bin if it still works. Here is how to sort out which one fits, plus what to do with cordless models, hair dryer brushes, and the curling irons and flat irons that usually sit in the same drawer.

The quick answer

• Working dryer: donate it to a thrift store or give it away, as long as the cord and plug are in good shape.
• Broken corded dryer: take it to an electronics or small appliance drop-off, a county transfer station or convenience center that takes small appliances, or a scrap metal yard.
• Do not put it in the curbside recycling cart. Most programs reject anything with a cord or motor.
• Cordless or rechargeable model: treat it like a battery device and use an electronics or rechargeable battery drop-off. Keep it out of the trash.
• Trash is a last resort for an ordinary corded dryer, and only where your local rules allow small appliances in household garbage.

Can a hair dryer go in the trash?

In many places a standard corded hair dryer is allowed in the household trash, because it has no battery, refrigerant or fluid inside. That does not make the trash the best choice. A dryer contains copper in the cord and motor windings, a nickel-chromium heating coil and other metals that a recycler can pull out and reuse, and it takes up space in a landfill for no reason. Some cities and states also have rules that keep certain electronics or small appliances out of the garbage, so check your local solid waste website before you toss one.

The curbside cart is a firmer no. Single-stream recycling sorts bottles, cans, paper and cardboard. Cords wrap around the spinning screens at a sorting plant, and a mixed plastic-and-metal appliance has no sorting line to land on, so it gets pulled out by hand and sent to the landfill anyway.

Where to recycle a hair dryer

1. County or city drop-off. Many transfer stations, recycling centers and rural convenience centers accept small appliances, either in an electronics area or in the scrap metal pile. Search your county on Dumpmapper and check the listing's accepted materials, then call to confirm. Our electronics disposal guide explains how these sites usually work.
2. Electronics recycling events. Counties, cities and some nonprofits hold collection days for electronics and small appliances. They often take hair dryers along with phones, laptops and cords.
3. Scrap metal yards. Yards buy copper wire and motors, but a single hair dryer is mostly plastic by weight, so expect little or no payment. It is still a good way to keep the metals in use, especially if you are bringing other scrap.
4. Retail take-back. Some electronics and office supply stores accept small electronics for recycling. Programs and accepted items change, so check with the store before you go.
5. Appliance and electronics recyclers. Private recyclers may take small appliances for free or a small fee. Our appliance disposal guide covers the bigger items too.

How to get it ready for drop-off

• Unplug it and let it cool. Obvious, but easy to forget if you just used it.
• Wrap the cord. Coil it loosely and secure it with a twist tie or tape so it does not tangle with other items.
• Keep the attachments separate. Plastic diffusers and concentrator nozzles have no electronics. If they carry a recycling code your program accepts, they can go in the cart; otherwise, they are trash or can be kept as spares.
• Check for damage. If the cord is frayed, the plug is melted or the dryer smells of burning plastic, stop using it. Mention the damage at the drop-off and do not donate it.
• Combine trips. Gather other small electronics, chargers and cords and take them in one load. Our post on old cables and cords covers the tangle in the junk drawer.

Cordless dryers and hair dryer brushes

Most hair dryers and hot-air brushes plug into the wall and have no battery at all. A growing number of travel and cordless styling tools, though, run on a built-in rechargeable battery, usually lithium-ion. Those need more care:

• Do not put them in the trash or the recycling cart. A crushed lithium-ion battery can start a fire in a garbage truck or at a recycling plant.
• Take the whole device to an electronics drop-off, a household hazardous waste site, or a store with a rechargeable battery collection box that accepts small devices.
• Tape over any exposed charging contacts and bag the device on its own.
• If the battery is swollen or the case is cracked, stop charging it and tell the drop-off staff it is damaged.

Our guide on where to recycle batteries has more on finding a rechargeable battery drop-off.

Very old hair dryers

If you are clearing out a relative's house and find a dryer from the 1970s or earlier, handle it as is and do not take it apart. Some hand-held hair dryers from that era used asbestos insulation around the heating element, and makers in the United States stopped using it around 1979 under pressure from federal safety regulators. A sealed, intact dryer is not a hazard sitting in a box, but breaking it open can release fibers. Ask your county's household hazardous waste program or solid waste office how they want it handled, and keep it out of the scrap pile until you know. Old bonnet-style hood dryers are bulky small appliances; most drop-offs that take small appliances or scrap metal will accept them.

Curling irons, flat irons and other hot tools

Curling irons, curling wands, flat irons, hot-air brushes and electric hot rollers are handled the same way as a hair dryer. Corded tools go to an electronics or small appliance drop-off or a scrap yard; cordless and rechargeable ones go to a battery or electronics drop-off. Let them cool fully before you pack them, and tape or bag tools with metal plates so the edges do not snag other items. The same advice works for electric shavers and beard trimmers, most of which have rechargeable batteries.

Donating or reusing a working dryer

A clean, working hair dryer with an undamaged cord is easy to pass on. Thrift stores, buy-nothing groups and online marketplaces all move them quickly. Some salons and beauty schools welcome spare professional dryers, and shelters sometimes accept new or like-new personal care appliances, so ask first. Before you donate, wipe it down, clean the lint screen on the back, and test it on every heat and speed setting. Do not donate a dryer that sparks, smells burnt, overheats or has a cracked case or frayed cord.

If it is broken and you are handy, the most common failures are a worn cord or a clogged intake that trips the thermal cutoff. Cleaning the intake screen sometimes brings a dryer back. For anything electrical beyond that, recycling is usually safer than a home repair.

Hair dryer disposal FAQ

Can I throw a hair dryer in the trash?

In many areas a standard corded hair dryer is allowed in household trash, but recycling is better because the cord, motor and heating coil contain copper and other metals. Cordless models with batteries should never go in the trash.

Can hair dryers go in the recycling bin?

No. Curbside recycling carts do not accept items with cords or motors. Take the dryer to an electronics or small appliance drop-off or a scrap metal yard instead.

Where can I recycle a hair dryer near me?

Check your county or city transfer station, recycling center or convenience center for small appliance or electronics recycling, watch for electronics collection events, or ask a local scrap metal yard. Call ahead to confirm.

Can I donate a used hair dryer?

Yes, if it works on every setting and the cord, plug and case are undamaged. Thrift stores, buy-nothing groups and online marketplaces usually take them. Do not donate one that sparks, smells burnt or overheats.

How do I dispose of a cordless hair dryer?

Treat it as a battery device. Take it to an electronics drop-off, a household hazardous waste site or a rechargeable battery collection box that accepts small devices, and tape over any exposed contacts.

How do I dispose of a curling iron or flat iron?

The same way as a hair dryer. Let it cool, then take corded tools to an electronics or small appliance drop-off or a scrap yard, and take rechargeable tools to a battery or electronics drop-off.

The bottom line

How to dispose of a hair dryer comes down to its condition and its power source. Donate a working corded dryer, recycle a broken one at an electronics or small appliance drop-off or a scrap yard, and keep cordless, battery-powered models out of the trash entirely. Skip the curbside recycling cart, leave very old dryers intact until you have asked your local program, and bring curling irons, flat irons and other hot tools along on the same trip.