where to donate, sell, recycle, & dispose

Arts & Crafts

Seattle ReCreative is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting creativity, community, and environmental stewardship through creative reuse and art education. They accept art and craft materials including yarn, fabric, sewing supplies, classroom supplies, and many more items on this list.

Room to Craft in Bothell also takes acrylic stamps, paper crafting tools, paints, and other crafting supplies.

Batteries & Cell Phones

Whether you sell, donate, or recycle your old cell phone, make sure to delete your personal data and do a factory reset beforehand.

Decluttr has a cell phone buyback program where you can send in your phone for cash. You can check how much you could sell for here.

If you would like to donate your old cell phone, Cell Phones for Soldiers is a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing cost-free communication services and emergency funding to active-duty military members and veterans.

Also, various Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Staples stores will help you recycle cell phones and rechargeable batteries. Use this locator to find the nearest drop-off location.

Alkaline and single-use batteries can be recycled at the Factoria Recycling & Transfer Station located at 13800 SE 32nd St, Bellevue, WA 98005.

Books

If you would like to sell your books, Half Price Books is a great option since they buy hardbacks, paperbacks, magazines, textbooks, audiobooks, tablets, and e-readers. Find your nearest location here.

You can also donate books to your local library branch or to a Little Free Library near you.

Clothing & Textiles

Besides your favorite, local consignment store, ThredUp and The RealReal require little to no effort to sell your clothes. They send you a shipping package with prepaid postage, and all you have to do is fill up the bag with clothes that you’d like to sell. They will take amazing photos and list your clothes for you for a fee. Unsold clothing can also be donated.

If you have modern, professional wear that’s no more than five years old, consider donating to Dress for Success Seattle. You can find a list of items they’re currently looking for here.

Lastly, did you know that you can reuse or recycle damaged clothing? Many charities in the area like Goodwill, Northwest Center, The Salvation Army, and Value Village participate in the ThreadCycle program. Here is a list of acceptable items and where to donate them. Your local transfer station might also recycle textiles.

Electronics

Remember to delete your personal data and do a factory reset before getting rid of your electronics.

If you’d like to sell your electronics, Decluttr will buy back your Apple products, tablets, and gaming consoles for cash. You can search for the item you’d like to sell here and get an estimate of your potential earnings.

E-Cycle Washington is a program that helps Washington residents recycle their broken, obsolete, or worn-out electronics. They recycle TVs, computers, laptops, monitors, tablets, e-readers, and portable DVD players. You can find a location to drop off these items here.

Best Buy also allows you to trade in or recycle TVs, computers, tablets, and other electronics.

Kids Donation

WestSide Baby and Eastside Baby Corner are both non-profit organizations that help distribute donations to children and families in need in King County. You can find out what items are currently most needed and drop-off locations on their websites.

Treehouse is another non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping foster kids pursue their dreams and launch successfully into adulthood. Their list of needed items and drop-off location can be found here.

Medication

If you have expired and unwanted medication you’d like get rid of, please don’t flush it down the toilet, or throw it away in the garbage. For safe disposal, make sure that your item is listed on this King County website, and find a drop-box location here. You can also stop by your local pharmacy to ask if they safely dispose of old medicine.

Paint

Did you know that you can use this locator to find the nearest drop-off site to recycle old paint? We do recommend calling the location directly to check the hours that you can drop off paint and see if there are any limitations to the amount or type of paint to dispose.

Donation Pick-Up

Many charities including The Salvation Army and the Seattle Goodwill can pick up your donations. You can also schedule a charity donation pick-up on Donation Town for free.

Bulk Shredding

PROSHRED Seattle is a woman-owned, mobile shredding company with over 30 years of experience in secure, on-site destruction of confidential documents and mixed media. You can read more about their services and get a free estimate on their website.

Recycling & Disposal

You can drop off appliances, household hazardous waste, textiles, and many more items at a King County transfer station near you. Check that your transfer station accepts the items and if there are any applicable fees.

For household hazardous waste, you can also call (206) 296-4692, or visit HazWasteHelp.org to find out how to safely dispose of these items.

Lastly, Happy Hauler will load and haul household junk, yard waste, unwanted furniture, and appliances. You can read more about what they do and get a free quote on their website.