Disposing of or shipping magnets: how do you do it?
Short answer: do not throw loose neodymium magnets in general waste; take them to a recycling centre as scrap iron or metal. Magnets inside a device (speaker, hard drive, battery-powered toy) go with electronic waste. If you want to ship magnets, pack them so they cannot attract to the outside of the box or to each other: in the middle of a sturdy box, with spacers and at least a few centimetres of filling material. Extra rules apply for air freight.
Disposing of magnets
| What | Where to take it |
|---|---|
| Loose neodymium magnets, pot magnets, fishing magnets | recycling centre: scrap iron / metal |
| Devices with magnets (speakers, hard drives, small motors) | electronic waste (e-waste), or back to the shop |
| Toys with batteries and magnets | electronic waste |
| Fridge magnets and magnetic sheet | general waste (usually ferrite or flexible magnet) |
| Very small magnets | collect in a jar and hand in as metal; not loose in the bin |
Rules differ per municipality; if in doubt, check your local waste guide. Tape loose magnets to a piece of steel or keep them in a small box so they do not stick to containers or other objects.
Are neodymium magnets recycled?
The metal is recovered through scrap and electronics recycling. Targeted recycling of the rare earth elements from magnets still happens on a small scale, but is growing. Europe wants a quarter of critical raw materials to come from recycling by 2030. More in what are rare earth elements?
Shipping magnets by post or parcel
- Distance to the outside: place the magnets in the middle of the box, with at least 3 – 5 cm of cardboard, foam or bubble wrap all around. This stops them sticking to sorting belts, roll containers or other parcels.
- Distance to each other: put cardboard or plastic between strong magnets so they do not snap together and splinter.
- Shielding: place large magnets on a steel plate; the field then largely closes through the steel.
- Stacking in opposition: pot magnets with the magnetic faces against each other or against a steel plate reduce the external field.
- Electronics and cards: not in the same parcel as bank cards or mechanical watches. See magnets and electronics.
Within the Netherlands and Europe, magnets can travel in a normal parcel by road. We ship magnets every day and pack them like this.
Magnets by air freight
In aircraft, strong magnets can disturb compass and navigation instruments. That is why air freight is subject to the IATA rules for magnetised material (packing instruction 953): the parcel's field is measured at 2.1 metres. If it is stronger than 0.00525 gauss there, the parcel is dangerous goods (class 9) or must first be shielded. Small magnets in good packaging usually stay below that limit; large magnets and fishing magnets need shielding. If in doubt, ask your carrier.
Frequently asked questions
May I take magnets in my suitcase or hand luggage?
Small magnets usually yes. Large, strong magnets may fall under dangerous goods rules. Check with your airline.
Can a magnet in a waste container cause problems?
Loose strong magnets can stick to containers and machines and cause problems during sorting. So hand them in separately as metal.
