How to dispose of broken exercise equipment?

[braumeister]

One of my favorite stories along these lines:

Many years ago in NYC, a friend was fixing up an older house he had just bought. There was a big cast iron bathtub in the upstairs bath and he enlisted his friends to help remove it. There were six of us, all in our 20s or 30s, and we struggled to get it out and down the stairs with the help of some stout ropes.

We managed to get it out to the curb and spent the next hour or two (over some well-earned adult beverages) discussing how we could arrange to have it hauled away.

Next morning it was gone.

 

[travelover]

One of my favorite stories along these lines:

Many years ago in NYC, a friend was fixing up an older house he had just bought. There was a big cast iron bathtub in the upstairs bath and he enlisted his friends to help remove it. There were six of us, all in our 20s or 30s, and we struggled to get it out and down the stairs with the help of some stout ropes.

We managed to get it out to the curb and spent the next hour or two (over some well-earned adult beverages) discussing how we could arrange to have it hauled away.

Next morning it was gone.

You do realize that one good whack with a sledge hammer would have shattered it?

 

[pb4uski]

Put it on Craig's for free.

Dismantle it and recycle the metal, throw away the plastic.

When you buy a new one, ask about hauling away the old one.

Cut it up (or dismantle) and throw a bit away each week in the normal trash.

Find a scrapper in Craig's to take it away for scrap.

You should be able to get rid of it for free. Calling someone to pick it up will be over $100.

+1 except rather than throw away the plastic, recycle it.

 

[meierlde]

Is there a goodwill in your town? They do pickups and will then fix up the machine and sell it.

 

[Music Lover]

Unless it is of some value to a worthy cause or charity, I simply put it by the road with a "free" sign and have enjoyed a 100% success rate of it being taken.

 

[jazz4cash]

Our local utility also hauls away old refrigerators and pays you $30 for the privilege (or you can donate the money). But there's an important caveat: It must be working (meaning you need to have it plugged in when they arrive, and the inside has to be cold).

The reason is that way they can be assured the refrigerant is still sealed in. Otherwise I think there is an EPA fine for disposing of it without recycling the refrigerant.

We had a 1920's era "Frigidaire" that finally kicked the bucket in the 80's and I had to drag it out of the basement and out to the alley for bulky trash pickup. The next day every bit of vegetation within 20 feet of the path where I dragged it was dead. I think it may have used ammonia as a refrigerant. Neighbors were not happy, but really there were a lot of overgrown weeds in that alley. I was lucky it didn't make me sick.

 

[Life_is_Good]

Got rid of it

Several of you suggested looking at Craigslist for scrap metal / recycle ads. I found one that offered free pickup. It was gone within hours. Problem solved.