What to do with old (inactive) magic bands

[hart6066]

We have several sets of old ones--is there a way to recycle them or do you just throw them out? We have the newest ones and from now on will decline getting new ones until they need to be updated but there are a lot of old ones sitting here!

Thanks!

 

[chalee94]

I gave my old ones back to Disney to recycle. I dropped them off at a resort lobby when the staff had a moment free.

 

[hiroMYhero]

We have several sets of old ones--is there a way to recycle them or do you just throw them out? We have the newest ones and from now on will decline getting new ones until they need to be updated but there are a lot of old ones sitting here!

Thanks!

You can still use the old ones or throw them out.

Disney will just toss them. They don’t recycle anything. All the trash from the regular and recycle containers just get dumped together - every KTTK guest sees that backstage “dumping.” The “recycle” process by Disney allows guests to feel “green.”

 

[tex1989]

We now have Magic Bands in all the standard colors they offer and we have also bought some special or limited edition ones as well. My wife ordered a stand for displaying watches made of plexiglass and so we now have all of our MB's displayed. We have a Food and Wine Festival MB that shows different rainbow colors when you swipe it at the entrance gate and makes the sound of a popping cork. My wife has a Haunted Mansion wallpaper one that does something I cannot remember. We also have MNSSHP bands that also light up differently at the gates as well and just got the Slinky Dog MB on our last trip to commemerate the opening of Toy Story Land.

It's neat when they display at entry and there are CM's that have never seen them and want to watch and listen when we scan in.

 

[tex1989]

At some point the old ones battery does wear out. They can still be used for entry to parks, FP's, Charging and Room Entry. The one thing you have to be careful of is they will not pick up up for ride pictures if the battery is worn out so be careful and don't be disappointed by missing those pictures due to old bands. If there is ever a doubt scan your band at the end of the ride if the MB is older and you are still using it.

 

[gatorlisa]

I have a friend who has several smaller themed Christmas trees in her home each year. One of them is now a Disney tree with MagicBands as ornaments. I now have enough I may have to copy her idea.

@hiroMYhero, that's disappointing to hear. If they don't want to recycle, fine, but to present themselves as doing so and then not, bummer.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

My kids play “Fastpass” with them at home Just today we pretended to ride Peter Pan, Kilimanjaro Safari and the Barnstormer

 

[3DisneyFanz]

My kids play “Fastpass” with them at home Just today we pretended to ride Peter Pan, Kilimanjaro Safari and the Barnstormer

Our 4 year old wears them all the time. He loves it when people ask him about them.

 

[bumbershoot]

Disney will just toss them. They don’t recycle anything. All the trash from the regular and recycle containers just get dumped together - every KTTK guest sees that backstage “dumping.” The “recycle” process by Disney allows guests to feel “green.”

The people I know irl who have taken that tour were told that it all goes together and then it’s sorted into trash and recycling.

I’m not saying bands can be recycled, but in regards to recycling as a whole, either you’re misunderstanding or Disney guides have blatantly lied to several people I know who have been on those tours.

 

[SueM in MN]

The people I know irl who have taken that tour were told that it all goes together and then it’s sorted into trash and recycling.

I’m not saying bands can be recycled, but in regards to recycling as a whole, either you’re misunderstanding or Disney guides have blatantly lied to several people I know who have been on those tours.

I’ve seen articles in non-Disney magazines about Disney’s investments and progress in recycling. So, I’m with you and don’t believe that they just throw everthing out.

I actually called Housekeeping during our last trip because I was in the room when the Housekeeper came during the new daily trash pickup and saw him empty the recycling and trash into one bag (even though I had sorted them).
The Housekeeping office person I talked to said the trash and recycling items are mixed together and are sorted later, so it was OK that they were all mixed into one bag.
A few hours later, I got a call from the Supervisor of the the person I had talked to (which I didn’t expect). She said the Housekeepers in the hotels WERE supposed to keep the recycling separated from the trash if the guests had used both containers. She also indicated they would be reviewing correct trash and recycling pickup with the Housekeeper who had come to our room.
She indicted WDW re-sorts both the trash and the recycling after pick up because guests often throw trash in the recycling containers or things that should be recycled into the trash.

That might be why there is confusion about WDW’s recycling.

 

[bryanb]

The people I know irl who have taken that tour were told that it all goes together and then it’s sorted into trash and recycling.

I’m not saying bands can be recycled, but in regards to recycling as a whole, either you’re misunderstanding or Disney guides have blatantly lied to several people I know who have been on those tours.

When I worked at Disneyland, I was told that the trash was mixed but resorted at the processing plant to separate recyclables, some composting, and landfill. The reason I believe them is that (1) there were people whose jobs it was to handle this and I don't think they could all lie to the public and shareholders, and (2) more importantly, trash sorting can actually recover a lot of money when you consider how many plastic bottles can be reclaimed alone from the process, (3) theme park trash isn't too complicated a mix -- just a lot of volume, and (4) my current company does the same thing.

The recycle bins are likely just for show, similar to how they are at my work, where we mingle and send it off to be sorted again. Unfortunately, you can't yet count on the public to use manually sorted bins correctly (at least not in the USA). Each one will get contaminated. My company originally intended not to remix all of the trash together, but that experiment failed. We still have the separate recycle bins though, at least in an attempt to slowly change habits.

Edited to add: I do wish there was a way to recycle the Magic Bands though...

 

[Timothy02359]

We keep them and link ours together to forge our Disney chain.

 

[motherof5]

We have several sets of old ones--is there a way to recycle them or do you just throw them out? We have the newest ones and from now on will decline getting new ones until they need to be updated but there are a lot of old ones sitting here!

Thanks!

Some people turn them into wall art, really pretty.

 

[MinnieMama411]

You can still use the old ones or throw them out.

Disney will just toss them. They don’t recycle anything. All the trash from the regular and recycle containers just get dumped together - every KTTK guest sees that backstage “dumping.” The “recycle” process by Disney allows guests to feel “green.”

I'm disappointed I can't recycle our older magic bands. No grandkids to play "fastpass." I barely decoratively painted our first bands, so I feel no need to keep them. Such a bummer.