Skip to content 
Yes, Latex gloves can easily be recycled as long as they are not stained or contaminated with clinical waste or chemicals.
There are several ways you can recycle nitrile, vinyl and latex gloves as we are going to discuss in this post.
But before that, it’s important to know that the most common types of disposable gloves are made from latex, vinyl and nitrile which take years to biograde.
This is an indication that these materials can be toxic for the environment and they usually end up in the sea.
This has been a cause of concern for all the state governments around the world and they are in constant move to reduce the impact on the environment.
During the Coronavirus outbreak in 2019, more than 370 Billion gloves were made each year and this number keeps on increasing.
The global leading producer of latex gloves produced 73.4 billion gloves during the Coronavirus era according to reports.
Statistica.com states that Malaysia only produced 136.8 billion gloves in 2021 alone.
For that reason, the only alternative that environment activists have to do is to encourage the public to recycle latex gloves.
Here are some easier ways to recycle latex gloves.
Donate your gloves
You can donate your used gloves to, Salvation Army, which will be sold to raise money for their charity.
You can also give it away free on Freecycle or Craigslist and many charities are grateful for donations that drive their cause forward. Besides Salvation Army, there are few other organizations that accept gloves as donations.
But it’s still important to note that most organizations will only accept gloves that are not contaminated with clinical waste.
Rent a shredder
Most cities and states in the US have industrial shredders that are available for rent.
The shredded latex turn into reusable particles which can be used in many products or waste disposal?
This is actually one of the easiest ways to recycle latex gloves.
Recycle gloves through a glove dealer
There are many companies that are in constant move to reduce the impact of gloves in the market.
You can try the TerraCycle boxes from Waster.com.
Waster has actually partnered with TerraCycle to issue TerraCycle boxes that can help you recycle the gloves.
When you purchase these boxes, you get them shipped to you directly and when they are full, the company will help you ship the waste back to them.
There is a nominal shipping fee for the box.
You can choose from a few options to send them your gloves.
Recycle gloves through a waste management company
There are many recycling companies that provide glove recycling services at an affordable price.
You can contact them and ask for their quotes and select the best one.
These companies have their own shredders which can extract reusable particles from the gloves, these particles can be used in various products or waste disposal like in rubber products.
FAQs
Can latex gloves be recycled?
Although most companies don’t facilitate accept recycled latex gloves, there are few others that accept gloves recycling.
However, the gloves shouldn’t be contaminated with clinical waste.
Is there recyclable Latex?
There is no recyclable latex but there are few organizations today that are trying to recycle these gloves into usable products to save the environment.
However, these organizations only accept latex that is not contaminated with clinical waste.
How Can I recycle latex gloves?
There are few ways you can recycle latex gloves.
You can choose to donate clean gloves to deserving organizations; you can as well rent a slender and transform latex into usable particles or contract a waste management company that can recycle latex.
If you were wondering whether latex gloves can be recycled, then the answer is yes although you will have limited recycling options.
You can try any of the methods explained above to recycle latex gloves and save the environment.
