Hair dye is classified as a hazardous waste item. This is why you can’t just toss it in the trash and go on.
Putting the bottle in a hazardous trash receptacle is the easiest way to get rid of leftover hair dye. You can throw it away in the mixed rubbish bin.
However, if the color contains hazardous chemicals, it should not be thrown away in the mixed recycling container.
The majority of hair dyes contain hazardous material that is potentially damaging to the environment. This is why you should take your hair dye waste to a hazardous waste disposal facility.
This holds for other types of hazardous home garbage as well. Hairsprays, permanent curling chemicals, and hair bleach are all examples of this.
Research your local regulations and procedures for disposing of hazardous waste to ensure that you dispose of the dye correctly and adequately. (Read What To Do With Old Diesel Fuel)
You might also discover that your town provides handy drop-off locations in your neighborhood. Drop off any hazardous materials or chemicals that need to be disposed of. This will save you time from going to a hazardous waste disposal facility.
How to Dispose of Hair Dye
1. Give it to someone you care about.
This is the most entertaining method to use up your extra dye. You can ask your family, friends, or even neighbors if they want to use the dye.
You might even locate someone in your own house who is willing to dye their hair the same color as yours. You’ll be able to use up all of the unused hair dye this way. You can also use it as an opportunity to bond by coloring each other’s hair.
When you dye your hair, you will undoubtedly acquire all of the missing places that mysteriously appear! You may quickly rinse the bottle once you’ve used up all of the dye. You may quickly dispose of the empty bottle in your home’s recycling bin.
Alternatively, you can drop it off at any nearby recycling drop-off facility.
2. Find a Household Waste Program in Your Area
Giving excess or leftover dye to a household garbage program is another fantastic way to get rid of it. Contact your town, other local authorities, or waste facility workers to see if they have any such initiatives in place.
You can throw unused hair dye or unwanted hair dye at that facility if they have such a program. This will ensure that the dye is used rather than thrown away.
If your municipality does not have one, you can locate a hazardous waste collection unit in your area to dispose of the dye.
3. Make a Hair Dye Donation
Do you have any unopened bottles of hair dye sitting around the house? You can donate them to a comparable nursing home or an assisted living facility if you know you won’t utilize them.
You might also give the dye bottle to a local women’s shelter or long-term care facility. They can use it to tint their residents’ hair. (Learn How To Dispose Of Turpentine)
It will save you time and effort. Furthermore, nothing compares to the satisfaction of knowing that you have just made someone’s day!
Just make sure to look for institutions in your area that will accept these products. Even if the products are sealed, many centers and institutions do not receive them. It’s due to apprehensions about potential safety hazards and legal repercussions.
4. Excess Hair Dye Should Not Be Dumped Down Drains
Hair dye contains chemicals that are toxic to fish and wildlife and damage to water and soil. You may tell by how difficult removing hair dye stains from your skin, carpet, or wood floor is.
If excess hair dye or bleach is dumped down drains or toilets, it can contaminate septic tanks or wastewater treatment systems.
They may even injure sanitation personnel, and filtering these compounds out of the water can be difficult for waste facility staff. This would make the water poisonous and unfit for consumption. That is why it is important to put the hair dye in an empty or used container.
5. Don’t Use All of Your Unmixed Hair Dye and Developer At Once
This is another simple approach to avoid having to dispose of surplus hair dye. You can experiment with mixing hair dyes, but don’t combine all of your hair dye and developer at the same time!
This is especially true if you have short hair and know that you won’t need all hair dye and developer included in the kit. Keep in mind that your pure dye and developer will begin to oxidize after you open the containers.
As a result, manufacturers advise utilizing opened, unmixed containers within six weeks of opening. If oxidation has occurred during this time, you may notice a darker color result when you dye your hair again.
6. Excess Hair Dye Diluting
If you can’t reuse or give your surplus hair dye or bleach, dilute it with water before dropping it down the drain as the last option. It is less dangerous than putting it down the hole, but it can harm aquatic life and the water system.
- Turn on the faucet and pour the leftovers down the bathroom drain slowly.
- Allow the water to run for a minute after all of the colors have been washed down the drain before turning off the faucet.
- Never flush extra hair color or bleach down the drain without first diluting it.
Hair dyes and bleach might be difficult for waste faculty members to filter out of the water, rendering it useless and poisonous.
7. Make Use Of Natural Hair Dyes
If you want to avoid dealing with many chemicals, the best alternative is to use plant-based or natural dyes. You might use henna, a natural hair dye that not only colors but also conditions the hair, making it voluminous and lustrous. Henna is also a fantastic hair dye alternative for dreadlocks.
The good news is that any leftover henna can be tossed on your compost heap rather than disposed of in hazardous waste. After you’ve used henna, make sure to condition your hair correctly.
You can use a standard conditioner or oil, but the color will not work as effectively if you mix oil with henna. Combine the henna dye with lemon or grapefruit juice.
Henna, on the other hand, is a bit of a disaster. There are a variety of plant-based hair dyes on the market that contain fewer dangerous chemicals than typical hair dyes if you want something a little easier. These plant-based colors are kinder on your hair and better for the environment.
To dispose of or use leftover hair dye, follow the steps outlined above. It’s advisable to research your local rules and laws regarding the disposal of items like hair dye. Hazardous trash units are located inside some recycling centers in some communities. (Read Can A Gas Stove Explode)
If this is the case around your local municipality, you can recycle your old hair dye at your local recycling facility. Alternatively, you can drop off the dye at the nearest hazardous waste disposal facility.
