Home > Sell > Recycling > 4 Ways To Recycle Jewerly

How To Recycle Jewelry

If you’re like most families, you’ve been separating the cans from the bottles and setting them out on recycling day for quite some time. As newscasts continue to focus on the U.S.’s dependence on goods from foreign countries and the perilous condition of the earth because of global warming, many have even begun to buy green, to donate items rather than trashing them, and to purchase secondhand or recycled clothes. But is there a way recycle jewelry?

4 Ways to Recycle Jewelry

Precious metal recycling may not be like recycling aluminum, but there are many ways that you can give your jewelry new life, ways that not only benefit the environment, other people, and America’s self-sufficiency, but that benefit you through tax deductions, extra cash, and peace of mind. In fact, Liza Shtromberg, owner of a Los Angeles jewelry store and author of the blog All Things Green, writes that the precious metals now in circulation could last for centuries if recycled. For this reason, recycling precious metals is not only beneficial for you, but also of the utmost importance. Four ways to recycle diamonds, platinum, silver, gold, or other jewelry are donating, selling, melting, and gifting.

Donating your old jewelry is the perfect way to recycle precious metal and costume jewelry that you no longer wear. Of course, giving the jewelry to a resale shop is a wonderful way to support an organization that helps others, allow someone to enjoy your jewelry who might otherwise be unable to afford it, and promote shopping at secondhand stores in order to encourage recycling. Many communities have resale shops operated by local nonprofits or faith groups, so you can choose the group that most appeals to you. You can also recycle gold and other precious metals through groups that provide jewelry to those who cannot afford it for special events. Some nationwide charity groups collect jewelry to outfit needy teenage girls for prom, or job seekers for an interview. Recycled gold, silver, and even costume jewelry can also be used to benefit those in your community without the funds to get dressed up. Do you know a couple who is getting married and can’t afford wedding rings or a little girl who has never had a pair of real gold earrings? Your jewelry could make quite an impression on their lives. Remember, any time you choose to recycle jewelry through donating you can get a receipt for tax deduction, as long as the organization that receives your recycled jewelry is eligible for this special benefit.

You can also recycle precious metal and costume jewelry through selling it at reduced prices or even at a profit. Of course, EBay is a prime location for recycled precious metals, recycled diamonds, recycled gold, and other recycled jewelry. Although you can obviously use EBay to recycle jewelry as is, you can also use it to unload broken or mismatched jewelry. Recycling precious metals, even if they are contained in broken, unattractive, or mismatched jewelry, allows jewelry makers to forge new jewelry. Selling your recycled diamonds on EBay could earn you some extra cash and provide independent or small business jewelers with the means to create new pieces. Other crafting web sites, such as Etsy.com, also provide a means for jewelers to get supplies. Although these places may not be marketed as precious metal recyclers, they do provide options for those who want to recycle jewelry. Of course, if you’ve recycled silver, gold, platinum, and diamond, you will most likely receive the benefit of some extra cash in your pocket, as well as knowing you’ve helped a crafter with the means to get creative.

A third way to recycle jewelry involves melting. Many of those interested in precious metals recycling consider this to be one of the best ways that jewelry can be recycled. Precious metals recycling through melting is the essence of recycling; allowing old, unusable, or undesirable products to be made into something new. When you choose to recycle precious metal, you have a variety of options regarding what to do with the assets from that metal. You can get a little extra cash from the sale of your recycled silver, gold, or platinum or you can choose to donate the proceeds from the melted precious metals. Local jewelry stores often accept old gold, silver, and platinum for recycling, while gold recycling websites, some who specialize in donation to non-profit groups, also offer melting services. Cash4Gold is one website where you can quickly and easily recycle your precious metals through melting. After filling the prepaid, pre-insured envelope that we will send you with the precious metals you wish to recycle, Cash4Gold assesses their value and sends you a check in the mail, leaving it up to you to decide whether you should donate, pay bills, or treat yourself to something special.

A final way to engage in gold, platinum, and silver recycling is to give your old jewelry away as gifts. This works best when you want to recycle precious metals that have special value to you. You may want to recycle silver or even to recycle platinum while still keeping it in your family. Even if you have costume jewelry with sentimental value, giving the pieces as gifts to friends and family can preserve their emotional and monetary value. By recycling your jewelry through gift giving, you not only add a piece of beautiful and valuable jewelry to your friend or loved one’s collection, but you also allow the sentiment to continue, as they will now treasure the piece as a reminder of your love or friendship.

By learning to reuse and recycle all of our goods, we can have a healthier, more self-sufficient planet. Recycling your jewelry through donating, selling, melting, and gifting allows you to help the earth get to that state.

More Sharing Options