Household recycling
How to Recycle Dishes/Dinnerware
Ceramic and porcelain plates, bowls, mugs, and serving dishes. Treated as dishware rather than glass, so donation is the only real diversion route.
Special handlingLast reviewed July 28, 2026
Quick answer
Intact goes to a charity shop, broken goes in the trash. Ceramic and porcelain are a different material from container glass and municipalities list them as contamination, alongside drinking glasses and oven glass. Complete sets rehome easily at thrift stores; odd chipped plates do not. See the glass guide for why bottle recycling takes bottles and jars only.
- Recycling route
- Special handling
How to Prepare
- 1Wash and check for chips and cracks, since damaged pieces will be refused
- 2Donate complete sets together, which rehome far more easily than singles
- 3Set aside anything collectible or vintage for a consignment or antique dealer
- 4