How To Dispose Of Matches

Everyone is concerned about fire safety. That’s presumably why people have smoke alarms installed throughout their homes and keep a fire extinguisher handy at all times. However, there are items around the home you may not instantly associate with a fire hazard. Three common ones are rechargeable batteries, light bulbs, and matches.

You might think all are garbage once you have used them, or you keep them for the times of an emergency. Batteries and most light bulbs are made from not easily recycled materials, but what about the humble matchbook? If not disposed of properly, even used matches can leave you with a fire hazard.

In our guide, you can learn more about what to do with old matchbooks or boxes of matches. By the end, you’ll see how to do the right thing and ways of how to get rid of an old matches without needing to toss them in the trash and leaving a fire risk. (Learn How To Dispose of Hair Dye)

dispose matches

What Do You Do With Old Matchbooks?

Here’s more about how to dispose of matches properly.

Make sure you blow them out entirely after using them rather than leaving them smoldering, and you drop them in the trash.

When you’re ready to throw them, soak them for a few minutes in cold water. By doing this, the matches cannot start a fire, and they become safe to throw. And you can now toss the soaked matches in the garbage bin with the rest of your trash without fear of sparking a fire.

Why Is It Important to Dispose of Matches Correctly?

Once used, matches seem pretty. Most people blow them out and toss them.

This can be dangerous because the matchstick’s head could scrape against a rough surface and light again and cause a fire in your trash bin.

It might swiftly spread if you don’t put out a fire.

A single match can start a fire in your trash can that spreads quickly across your home.

How to Store Unused Matches

Learning how to store matches is as vital as learning how to dispose of them.

Everybody has matches, and even though lighters are available, matches remain popular.

It’s crucial to store them properly, especially if you have young children. Children are naturally interested and adore poking around.

You don’t want them sniffing about your matches and lighters because children can easily start a fire by playing with matches and lighters.

You should keep lighters and matches away from toddlers and school-age children, hiding them or keeping them in a locked cupboard.

Are Matchbooks Recyclable?

You may hear horror stories of people throwing unused matches. And the outcome? Garbage bags catch fire, and all it takes is a single match to ignite deep inside your trash.

A match takes very little energy to light, and remember, they may not light at your home, but in the garbage truck or landfill are areas they could start fires. (Learn How To Dispose Of Turpentine)

why dispose matches

Unused Matches

This highly flammable material could inflict more damage than a house fire, although there aren’t many stories of this happening.

The odds of matches spontaneously igniting are minimal, and safety matches reduce the risk further.

If preparing matches for disposal eliminates the risk, why not do it? It takes 2 minutes max.

The risk increases the more unused matches you throw away. Most people who worry about throwing away unused matches toss dozens of boxes or strips at once.

How to Safely Dispose of Unused Matches

If you want to throw away unused matches in the garbage, you’ll need a couple of minutes to prepare.

Follow these instructions:

  1. Add water to a large bowl
  2. Add your matches to the water
  3. Simply soak for an hour or two, so the match heads are saturated

The soaked matches can’t light, so you can mix them with your regular trash to safely dispose of them.

Are Burnt Matches Compostable?

If you have a green thumb, you may be interested in turning all of your biodegradable waste into compost for your plants.

It is best to make your fertilizer for your plants to save money and assure authenticity. You never know what’s in store-bought fertilizers.

Because matches are a common home item, it makes sense if you can dispose of them in compost piles?

Here, you can find out the answers, are matches compostable?

Can You Compost Matches?

Composting often means collecting waste from your home and putting it in a hole in the ground to lessen your environmental impact.

Food waste and biodegradable waste, such as paper, tea, coffee grounds, and any substance that microbes may break down quickly, are examples of these products that can be recycled to throw on your garden.

While practically any biodegradable item can be composted, several waste products should not be included in your personal or community compost piles.

Is it possible to add matches to your compost pile now?

Yes, is the quick answer. In matches made of wood, you’ll find potassium chlorate, phosphorus sulfide, binders, fillers, and other substances.

The ignition transforms potassium chlorate into potassium chloride when you strike a match.

When phosphorus sulfide and potassium chlorate are added to your compost pile, the whole thing becomes an excellent source of inorganic fertilizer.

However, you can put them in your compost pile because you’ll be throwing used match sticks.

If the match sticks aren’t used, they might harm the soil, other compost materials, and your plants.

recyclable

Are Matches Recyclable?

Any material thrown in the recycling bin and turned into a functional reusable item is recyclable.

In most cases, however, there are size restrictions. If an object is too small, it may become stuck in the recycling bin, causing damage to the material depending on its strength.

These things include office pins, plastic bottle covers, and anything else small enough to clog and damage the recycling machine.

This equipment is expensive, and it would be foolish to risk harming them to recycle a few small materials. (Learn How To Dispose Of Used Acetone)

Matches are small but not powerful enough to contaminate a recycling machine.

However, because they are composed of wood, they may contaminate other recyclable materials. So, if you’re going to recycle wood the old-fashioned way, you’ll need a particular recycling procedure, so you have to pay for companies specializing in it.

Wood recycling companies have restrictions on the types of wood they accept.

For example, wood that has been chemically treated cannot be recycled.

Wood that has been painted is likewise frowned upon. The wood is automatically excluded if it has been polluted or discolored.

Because painted, treated, infected, or colored wood can mix with pure wood and render everything useless, recycling wood is a breeze.

Wood recycling companies will have no problems with spent match sticks because they aren’t painted or treated, and the chemical components have been used up.

However, gathering match sticks solely to transport to a wood recycling facility would waste time.

Recycling matches isn’t an issue, yet it isn’t a regular activity. In this instance, it’ll be advisable to use alternate disposal techniques rather than recycle.

You can, of course, throw your used matches and unused matchbox in the trash when treated.

A quick way is to use them in a fireplace like a firelighter. Match heads plate and burn hot, so if you have many, they can quickly ignite fires in the home or use your used matches as kindling in your wood-burning fire pit.

Are Old Matches A Fire Hazard?

If you don’t have a compost pile or don’t want to use your community’s, throw away your old matchsticks. Since it’s out, it won’t harm the environment or catch fire abruptly.

Used matchsticks only catch fire when they touch a heat source. It will only burn like a twig, though.

Now, match sticks in landfills won’t hurt the environment. They won’t take up much space in dumps and decompose quickly. Instead, it’ll happen within a few months and leave the soil healthier than before.

How to Dispose of Unused Matches?

You can throw your used match sticks in the waste bin if you don’t have a compost pile or aren’t interested in taking them to your community’s compost pile.

It poses no threat to the environment and will not catch fire unexpectedly now that you have put it out.

A used match stick will only catch fire if it directly contacts a heat source. But even then, it will simply burn like a regular twig.

Even if the match sticks end up in the local city department landfill, they won’t affect the environment.

They won’t even take up much room in the landfills, and their disintegration will be quick.

It’ll happen in a few months, and the soil will be healthier than before the decomposition process began.

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