Utensils Special Instructions If you encounter stainless steel utensils at the Lab, consider where they might have come from. If it’s the cafeteria, please reutrn them. If not and they are still usable, see if you can find another home for them so somebody else can use them. Perhaps the kitchenette in your buidilng could use them. If they’re damanged and unusable, dispose of stainless steel and silver utensils as scrap metal. Find out how to dispose of scrap metal. If you don’t have utensils any and would like some, there are great reusable cutlery packs that you can carry on you or have at your desk. In fact, fill out this Google Form, and we’ll send you a set to keep on hand. Wrap Knives Before Disposing Blades can be wrapped in newspaper or bubble wrap and then taped. Metal knives can be disposed of with other scrap metal or donated. Compost Wooden Utensils Wooden utensils should be composted. Ways to Reuse Donate Utensils If your utensils are in good condition, consider dropping them off at a thrift store. Did You Know? Most Stainless Steel Is Recycled Many recyclable items have abysmally low rates of being recycled except for steel. According to the International Stainless Steel Forum, 80-90% of stainless steel is recycled. It can be recycled without degradation. On average, about 60% of any stainless steel item you purchase is made up of recycled materials. Compostable Utensils: Not the Most Eco-Friendly of Them All? Out of all types of utensils—compostable, plastic and reusable—compostables are advertised as being the most eco-friendly. Yet reusable utensils are still the front-runner because they are easily recycled and not single use. Keep in mind that there’s a good chance that compostables will end up in a landfill, due to the absence of compost collection services in many places.