Can Condoms Be Recycled?

A stack of condoms next to an open condom


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Recycling Condoms?

In the most literal sense, both male condoms and female condoms CANNOT be recycled...meaning that each condom can ONLY be used ONE time (some women believe that they can wash out the female condom and use it again—this is not true or recommended).





So What Should You Do With a Used Condom?

Most importantly, never flush a condom down the toilet. There are several reasons for this. Once latex is in water, it is no longer biodegradable. Flushed condoms can clog your plumbing—this can be expensive to fix (and potentially embarrassing if the plumber can identify the cause of your clog!). Also, even though flushed condoms are usually found and discarded at the beginning of the water-recycling process, if they are not discovered, they can end up in our water supply (eew!). These used condoms travel along with other water waste and can end up in our oceans and lakes.


So There's No Way for Condoms to Be Recycled?


It is unfortunate that there are not better earth-friendly ways of throwing out condoms. And although I am a huge advocate for living a greener lifestyle, I would still have to argue that the benefits of condom use—pregnancy protection and protection against various STDs—outweigh the limited options for recycling condoms. So, do your best to help protect our earth, but also remember to protect yourself during sex—condoms are a great and inexpensive birth control option to allow yourself this protection. And if you insist on wanting to recycle condoms, here's another way to look at recycling... why not experiment with different types of condoms—then "recycle" the condom types that you like the most.

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