Household recycling
How to Recycle Sporting Goods
Exercise equipment, team sports gear, and recreational items. Durable, seasonal, and multi-material, which makes it excellent for reuse and hopeless for recycling.
Special handlingLast reviewed July 28, 2026
Quick answer
Resale and donation are the whole answer. Sports gear is built to take abuse, so most of it outlives the owner's interest rather than wearing out, and schools, clubs, and secondhand sports shops absorb plenty of it. Recycling barely applies: metal frames, bats, and weights are scrap, while balls, pads, and helmets combine rubber, foam, and plastic and have no route.
- Recycling route
- Special handling
How to Prepare
- 1Clean gear and check that moving parts and fastenings still work
- 2Retire helmets and protective pads that have taken an impact or are past their date rather than donating them
- 3Offer usable equipment to a school, club, or community recreation program