‍Tips for Sustainable Waste Management for Your Garage Door

Being environmentally conscious at home is easier than you may think. You can dramatically cut down on the amount of waste your garage door produces by making some straightforward adjustments to your habits. Check out these practical tips:  

Recycle Old Garage Door Parts

Don't just throw the old garage door in the trash when you get a new one. Most of it can be recycled! Separate out the metal pieces, like hinges and tracks—those can go to a metal recycler. The wood panels can often be recycled for wood products. And the insulation can sometimes be recycled, too, if it's in good condition. Recycling keeps this stuff out of landfills.

Donate Usable Door Openers 

If your garage door opener still works okay, but you want to upgrade to a fancier new one, don't throw out the old opener. There are places that will take donations of used openers that still run. Maybe a charity or even a neighbor can use it if you ask around. It's a waste to trash something that is still usable.

Repair Instead of Replacing 

Don't be too quick to replace your whole garage door or opener if part of it breaks down. See if you can just repair that component instead of buying all new equipment. Getting repairs done by a pro usually costs way less than full replacements and cuts down on creating more waste.

Choose Energy-Efficient Openers 

When it is finally time for a new garage door or opener, look for models labeled as energy-efficient. They use less power to run, so you save on your electric bills. And using less electricity is better for the environment, too, because it reduces emissions from power plants.

Install Insulated Garage Doors

Insulated garage doors have layers of insulation sandwiched inside. This insulation acts as a thermal barrier so less heating and cooling energy escapes out of your garage's door. Insulated doors help reduce your home's overall energy waste.

Enable Standby Power Settings 

Many newer garage door openers have power-saving standby modes that use very little electricity when the opener isn't being used to open or close the door. Enabling this standby setting is an easy way to reduce energy waste.

Upgrade to Solar Power 

For a garage door opener upgrade, consider models that operate using solar power and rechargeable batteries. Solar openers don't need to constantly draw electricity from the grid, making them a very green option.

Recycle Garage Door Remote Batteries 

Don't just toss out old batteries from your garage remotes! Those batteries contain chemicals that are bad for the environment if they end up in landfills. Look for hazardous waste drop offs or mail-back programs to properly recycle them.

Donate or Sell Old Openers 

Do you have an older opener you're replacing that's still in decent working shape? See if any friends, family, or neighbors could use it before you get rid of it. Or you may even be able to resell it online. Working products shouldn't necessarily end up as trash.

Sustainable Disposal

For garage door components that truly have reached the end of their usable life and can't be repaired, repurposed, or donated, look into how to properly dispose of them. Some communities have special recycling for things like fiberglass doors, or you may need to use a hazardous waste facility.

Tips to Stay on Top of Garage Door Opener Maintenance

Your garage door opener will serve you well if you take a little time each year for some basic maintenance. If the garage door itself has issues, it puts extra strain on the opener, so getting the door checked and properly lubricated annually will help keep the whole system running smoothly.

Many garage door companies offer warranties that cover repairs to openers. However, you can extend the useful life of your opener by following some simple preventative steps yourself:

Do a monthly check of the door's alignment to ensure the springs are functioning properly. Don't try to adjust an unbalanced door on your own, though—the high-tension springs can be extremely dangerous if you're not trained to handle them safely.

Once a year, lubricate all the moving parts like rollers, hinges, and bearings with a garage door lubricant. This will allow smooth operation.

Every 3-4 years, you'll want to clean off any old grease and reapply a fresh, thin coat of lubricant to all those components.

‍

How to Dispose of an Old Garage Door Opener

Getting a new garage door opener is really cool, but you can't just throw the old one in the trash. There are right and wrong ways to dispose of it, and following waste management rules is important.

Batteries: The remote controls definitely had batteries in them. You can't put those old batteries in the regular garbage. Batteries have chemicals that are dangerous to the environment. Instead, you need to find a special dropoff location or mail-back program just for household batteries. Your city or town should have options for properly disposing of batteries through waste management programs.

Metal Parts: The long metal rail that the opener ran along and the big metal box that contained the motor are probably able to be recycled. Metal recycling places near you might accept those. Give them a call first to ask if they take those door opener parts and if they charge any fees.

Follow Proper Rules: Please don't illegally dump any part of the old garage door opener in the trash. Things like batteries and motors inside are considered hazardous waste. If you throw hazardous waste in the regular garbage pickup, you could get fined for breaking waste disposal laws. No one wants an expensive fine!

New Opener Installation: The easiest option is to let the company that installs your fancy new opener also remove the old one for you. The installation professionals will make sure to dispose of all the parts responsibly according to waste management standards.

Donating: If the actual garage door itself is still working okay, you may be able to donate it somewhere instead of trashing it. Some organizations fix up used garage doors to resell at a low price and use the money to build houses for people in need. Donating reduces waste.

‍

Conclusion

The little things really do add up when it comes to living more sustainably at home. Taking the time to properly sort your garage door waste into bins for recycling, composting, and trash makes a huge difference in reducing what ends up in landfills.

Staying on top of routine garage door and opener maintenance with simple stuff like lubrication and alignment checks helps ensure that equipment lasts longer before needing replacement.

Developing modest eco-friendly habits around waste disposal and equipment upkeep allows you to lessen your environmental impact without any drastic overhauls. Minor adjustments to your everyday practices can yield major sustainability benefits.