Household recycling
How to Recycle Candles
Jar candles, votives, pillars, and tealights. The wax is trash, the container usually is not, and the drain is the one place none of it should go.
Special handlingLast reviewed July 28, 2026
Quick answer
The wax goes in the trash and the jar often recycles once it is clean. Freezing the jar usually pops the wax out in one piece, or you can warm it and wipe it out. Never pour melted wax down a drain, where it cools, hardens, and blocks the pipe. Reusing the jar beats recycling it.
- Recycling route
- Special handling
How to Prepare
- 1Get the wax out first, by freezing the jar, warming it gently, or scooping it
- 2Put the wax in the trash along with the wick and its metal tab
- 3Never pour melted wax down a sink or drain, since it hardens and clogs the pipe
- 4