Throwing old sex toys away in a public bin - ok or is it illegal

Hi. I’m not sure if this is the right topic to put this in but it is somewhat about sex toys so I went with the sex toys category.
I have some sex toys that I never use and I was wondering if it’s ok to wrap them up in a black bin bag and throw them away in a public bin? I live with family still and my mum loves going through the rubbish bins to recycle and stuff and I am scared she will find the sex toys I threw away and be asking questions. I’m not sure if throwing away garbage in a black bin bag is ok or not or if I have to put it in my own bin.

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better than throwing them in the hedgerow

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@Melody1 I was debating that but then in my head I saw a scene of me on the news throwing my toys in the hedgerow and the woman saying “it appears here we have a sex toy maniac dumping her old toys. If you see her, call 0988-sex-toy-maniac” or something lmao

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Wrap pretty ribbons round them and pop them through random neighbours’ letterboxes at dead of night?

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It depends what kind of sex toys they are. If they have batteries/electronics in then they should never be thrown in with regular household rubbish. There are special small electrical item bins that you can use to dispose of those (you can check what facilities are available in your local area), or you can post them to Lovehoney and they’ll sort them out for you.

https://www.lovehoney.co.uk/help/lovehoney-and-the-environment.html

Anything else can be recycled depending on the material, or you can chuck them in a general waste bin in a pinch.

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Yes i think i mentioned last week the bomb squad was called out to an unexploded grenade in woodland in Germany, turned out to be a grenade shaped butt plug!

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Obviously just tossing them in the hedgerow is illegal as it would be for any litter and if you put electrical goods in the general household waste at the house then you might be breaking the contract with your local council and be liable to a fine (I guess your parents in this case).

As for just putting them in a public bin it doesn’t seem to be illegal just an ethical issue of recycling. If they have batteries then you could put them in a battery recycle bin which would really make someone’s day.

As suggested (if you can be bothered), local recycle centre and throwing them in the electrical goods bin.

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Not sure if it’s worth a shot for you, what I used to do was put toys in a bag or box and take them to the local dump/tip and dispose of them there, electrical toys can be put in the electrical skips/bins and anything else in the general bins/skips.

I had the same issue, mother always went through the bins and had a few incidents where I had to explain what certain items were and she was not pleased. I’m not sure if it’s LH or another company but they can dispose of rabbits for you, all you do is send them to the company. :slight_smile:

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I can totally relate to this. I also live at home with my parents at the moment and obviously I can’t throw any toys I have away in our own bin and the same goes with the box when I buy a new toy. So I always throw them away in a public bin, but I always try to find one that is pretty much empty so it goes right to the bottom and nobody would ever see what it was that had been thrown away

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Should be okay in usual domestic waste bin. Interesting if anyone actually disposes of them at the electrical section of their local recycling centre which I guess would be the environmentally friendly thing to do.

Perhaps Lovehoney could start a recycling scheme for its customer toys and reward recycling in some small way?

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Bag it and take it with you, drop them in a public bin like they do with ransom money in movies :joy:

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@sharbur As I also live with family every order I receive I take everything out of the box and only put the empty box next to the recycle bin at home.

Over the next few days I fold up all of the boxes and plastic wrapping that the toys come in and take them out with me to put in a public bin.

As for sex toys I do the same, if one brakes or I dont use them which is very rare I hide it as im leaving the house to throw in a bin somewhere.

I dont really want my family looking in the bin and seeing boxes for wands, big dildos etc lol

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Don’t think there is any right or wrong way of disposing them but ideally they should be taken to a recycling centre and dumped into one of their correct bins…

I personally get embarrassed and paranoid so even with the packaging in the past I’ve chopped it up into tiny pieces so no one could tell what it was then spaced it out by putting bits in different bins on different days to mix it all up haha :sweat_smile:

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Blimey. Can I borrow her?

I’m half tempted to suggest you leave her something interesting to find!

I don’t think I have ever disposed of toys - although my collection is in need of ‘curating’ - but boxes get flung to a far corner of the garage until OH next makes a trip to the local household and recycling centre (the dump / tip), which does also have a battery / electricals section. If going to one of these places isn’t a realistic option for you, then I’m sure wrapping them up and putting them in a public bin would be a tempting option. It might be against local by-laws?

Maybe save a plain box and post them to Lovehoney to dispose of? It is a good service which they offer - @Ian_Chimp has posted a link up-thread.

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https://www.lovehoney.co.uk/help/lovehoney-and-the-environment.html

Here you go this may be of help. X

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Stopped using mine when my mum found my school report in there :grin:

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I agree 100% on this. I’m pretty sure it’s illegal though not that often prosecuted.
Aside from being finite resources, many of the materials used in electronics, such as Lithium, can be extremely toxic & really really shouldn‘t go into landfill.
This is the reason for the WEEE (waste electrical/ electronic equipment) Regulations: to work towards all hazardous and/or precious materials being recovered from electronics and made safe.
With luck, these materials may even go towards newer, better sex toys :crossed_fingers:
The manufacturer or Lovehoney will be able to dispose of your toys, if local facilities are hard for you to access.
Good luck!

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And they can also cause fires in the waste processing if they become damaged in the crushers, etc.

Flaming rabbits! Nightmare!!

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I try to dispose of mine in the proper way. I have taken some to the tip along with other rubbish and put them in the Small Electricals skip. No one really notices much what you’re chucking in there!
Cardboard packaging goes in our recycling box as do the plastic moulded inserts that contain dildos and other toys. I make no attempt to disguise it ( I’m that brazen!) and if anyone should be rummaging through the boxes and find something that they consider offensive then it’s their own fault for being nosy! I’m sure the kerbside recycling people had seen it all before anyway.

But having said this I can understand that proper disposal could be a problem for people who maybe still live with parents or are not close to a recycling centre but at least remove the batteries first…they can be put out for kerbside recycling.