kitchenware · Ontario

Where to donate kitchenware and housewares in London

4 organizations in and around London that take donated kitchenware — what each one accepts, what it turns away, and which will come and collect it.

Verified 2026-09-24 from each organization's own website. We are not affiliated with anyone listed here, nobody pays to be included, and we receive nothing if you donate to them.

How to tell what you have got

Before you call anyone, two minutes with the object settles most of it. None of this needs an expert — it needs a flashlight and a look at the back.

  • Sterling silver flatware and hollowwareEach piece is stamped STERLING, STER, 925, or carries a British lion passant. EPNS, EP, A1, nickel silver, or the words silver plate mean there is no metal value at all. Knives usually have hollow handles filled with pitch or resin and a stainless blade, and weighted candlesticks and shakers are filled with pitch, so do not count their full weight as silver.
  • Bare cast iron frying pans and Dutch ovensSmooth, not pebbled, cooking surface, and raised letters on the base — Griswold, Wagner, Favorite, or the Century and Red Mountain marks used by Birmingham Stove & Range. Hairline cracks, a base that rocks on a flat counter, or deep pitting through the metal kill the value entirely. Surface rust does not.
  • Le Creuset and Staub enamelled cast ironBrand name cast into the base with a size number. Check the interior enamel for chips and crazing before you price anything — it is the first thing a buyer looks at. A missing lid takes a large bite out of the price; sold listings for your size, with and without the lid, will show you how much.
  • KitchenAid stand mixers, Vitamix and Thermomix blenders, and Breville or Jura espresso machinesPlug it in and run it before you price it or load it. The model number is on the base or the back. Original bowls, blades, dough hooks and attachments matter more than cosmetic condition.
  • Patterned vintage Pyrex opalwareOpaque white glass with a printed pattern — Butterprint, Gooseberry, Snowflake, or the primary-colour nesting bowls — and a Pyrex mark on the base. Dishwasher-faded patterns, lost lids and chips to the rim all cut what a piece will fetch; by how much is not published. Pyrex was genuinely made in Canada, by Corning Glass Works of Canada at Leamington, Ontario, so a Canadian mark is normal and not in itself a premium.
  • Branded kitchen knives in a matched setWüsthof, Zwilling J.A. Henckels with the two-figure logo, Global, or a Japanese maker's mark on the blade. A single Henckels figure, a bent tip, a wobbling bolster, or a blade reground into a crescent means it is scrap.
  • Heavy copper and commercial-grade cookwareReal copper is heavy for its size and the metal is thick at the rim — a thin copper-coloured skin over aluminum is decorative only. Mauviel and Falk are stamped. Commercial pieces are unbranded, heavy, and usually scratched to death, which does not matter.

What this list turns away

Counted from what each place says on its own site, not from what is generally true. Most refusals are about condition and completeness rather than category.

  • 4 of 4 will not take large appliancesDiabetes Canada — Declutter for Diabetes, Goodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes, Society of Saint Vincent de Paul London, Talize
  • 4 of 4 will not take hazardous materialDiabetes Canada — Declutter for Diabetes, Goodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes, Society of Saint Vincent de Paul London, Talize
  • 3 of 4 will not take mattresses and box springsGoodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes, Society of Saint Vincent de Paul London, Talize
  • 2 of 4 will not take anything damaged or stainedGoodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes, Talize

Rarely worth anything

Not a rule, and not a reason to bin something without asking. These are the things people most often expect to be worth money and find are not.

  • Complete bone china dinner services — Royal Albert, Royal Doulton, Wedgwood, Noritake, Paragon
  • Cut crystal stemware, decanters and fruit bowls
  • Anything silver-plated — EPNS trays, tea services, cutlery, cake stands
  • Non-stick pans with scratched, flaking or worn coating
  • Chipped, cracked or crazed dishes and mugs
  • Incomplete sets — seven of twelve plates, a casserole with no lid, four glasses from a set of eight
  • Commemorative and collector plates, souvenir mugs, promotional glassware
  • Plastic food storage, mismatched containers and lidless Tupperware
  • Burnt bakeware, rusted tins, warped pots, worn wooden and plastic utensils, opened food and part-used cleaning products
Leachable lead and cadmium limits apply to glazed ceramics and glassware sold in Canada Canada (federal)

The Glazed Ceramics and Glassware Regulations, SOR/2016-175, made under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, set maximum migration limits: lead 3.0 mg/L for flatware, 2.0 mg/L for small hollowware, 1.0 mg/L for large hollowware, 0.5 mg/L for cups and mugs, and 0.5 mg/L for pitchers, with cadmium limits of 0.25 to 0.50 mg/L depending on the item. The practical consequence for a house clearance is that worn, crazed and chipped glazes leach more than intact ones, and leaching rises with heat, acidity and contact time — which is both a reason not to keep using damaged dishes and the reason charities refuse them. These regulations replaced the earlier Glazed Ceramics and Glassware Regulations, SOR/98-176, which were repealed in 2016.

Read the rule →
Giving a recalled product away is prohibited on the same terms as selling it Canada (federal)

Section 8 of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (S.C. 2010, c. 21) prohibits any person from advertising or selling a consumer product they know is the subject of a recall order or a voluntary recall in Canada. Section 2 defines "sell" to include distributing a product to one or more persons "whether or not the distribution is made for consideration", so handing a recalled appliance to a neighbour, a thrift shop or a buy-nothing group for free is caught by the same rule. For a kitchen clearance that makes checking model numbers against Health Canada's recalls and safety alerts database a legal step rather than a precaution, and it applies to the small appliances most people assume are too trivial to check.

Read the rule →
Small kitchen appliances are covered by a free producer-funded recycling program in British Columbia British Columbia

Portable electrical appliances for food preparation with heating elements or motors — kettles, toasters, blenders, coffee makers — plus vacuums, sewing machines, power tools and countertop microwaves are accepted at Recycle My Electronics depots, operated by the Electronic Products Recycling Association. The recycling cost is collected as an Environmental Handling Fee at the point of purchase rather than at drop-off. Built-in appliances and large stationary equipment such as built-in microwaves and air conditioners are not in the program. This program absorbed what BC residents previously knew as ElectroRecycle; the old electrorecycle.ca address now redirects to Recycle My Electronics BC.

Read the rule →
Ontario's electronics regulation does not cover small kitchen appliances Ontario

O. Reg. 522/20 under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 applies to information technology, telecommunications and audio-visual equipment and to lighting. ITT/AV is defined by its primary purpose of collecting, storing, processing, presenting or communicating information, sounds or images. A kettle, toaster, blender or microwave is none of those things, so there is no producer-funded take-back for them in Ontario. The route is your municipality's depot or transfer station, usually as scrap metal. Do not assume a BC or American program applies here.

Read the rule →
Saskatchewan expanded its electronics stewardship program to include small appliances in 2025 Saskatchewan

Extended producer responsibility bulletins report that the Electronic Equipment Stewardship Program Regulations came into force on 4 September 2025 under The Environmental Management and Protection Act, 2010, bringing small appliances into the regulated program, with EPRA to communicate the expanded product list during 2026. This is drawn from a law-firm EPR summary rather than the regulation text, which could not be opened. Confirm with EPRA Saskatchewan what is accepted before driving anywhere with a car full of small appliances.

Read the rule →

4 places in London that take kitchenware

Diabetes Canada — Declutter for Diabetes

Will collect, conditions apply
TakesClothing of all types, Shoes and boots, Curtains, Cameras, Cell phones, Laptops and tablets, Books, Cookware, pots and pans, Small household appliances
Won't takeAll furniture, Large appliances, Televisions and computer monitors, Hazardous materials, Flammable products
CollectionFree home collection, but only when they have a scheduled run in your area — enter your postal code on their site to check. Items must be in sealed bags or boxes under 40 lb and left on the doorstep; loose items are not collected.
WhereNational program operating as National Diabetes Trust. No London street address to publish — donors either book a pickup or use the donation bin finder on their site.
Visit their site →1-800-505-5525

Goodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes

Not stated - ask them
TakesClothing, Household items and housewares, Books, Electronics, computers and phones, Cameras, Shoes and linens, Small appliances under 50 lbs, Small furniture under 50 lbs, Televisions and monitors under 50 lbs, Video games, Backpacks and purses, Wheelchairs and walkers
Won't takeMattresses and box springs, Large furniture and heavy items over 50 lbs, Hazardous, recalled or banned items, or items not meeting current safety standards, Large appliances, Construction materials, Damaged furniture, Food, Paint and chemicals, Pianos, Swimming pools, Weapons
CollectionTheir donate page describes drop-off at a Donation Centre and never mentions a home pickup service. Do not imply one exists. They also state plainly: 'All donations must be clean and in resale condition.'
WhereLondon presence is confirmed on their own about page, which names London in the list of communities served, and their head office address is in London. Their locator page states 'Goodwill, Ontario Great Lakes operates over 45 Donation Centres across Southern Ontario' — but the actual location list renders dynamically and showed only a 'Loading…' placeholder, so I could NOT verify a single specific London donation centre address. Link to their locator at https://www.goodwillindustries.ca/donation-centre-locator/ and publish no London street address. The researcher's figure was unsourced; 'over 45' is their own wording. Head office: 255 Horton Street East, 2nd Floor, London, Ontario N6B 1L1.
Visit their site →519-850-9000

Society of Saint Vincent de Paul London

Will collect, conditions apply
TakesMen's clothing, Pots and pans, Bedding, sheets and blankets, Towels, Tall boy / chest dressers, Loveseats, Couches
Won't takeRipped or heavily worn furniture, Sofa beds, Mattresses and box springs, Large appliances, Paint, parts or hazardous waste, Blinds, tanks or building materials
CollectionFurniture pickup by truck, arranged in advance. Call (519) 438-7071 or email donations585york@gmail.com with photos of the furniture, the pickup address and a contact phone number. The truck runs on a neighbourhood schedule quoted on their donations page: Monday Northeast, Tuesday Northwest, Thursday Southwest, Friday Southeast. No fee is mentioned anywhere on the page, but the page never uses the word 'free' — do not badge this as free pickup. Drop-off at 585 York Street, Monday to Friday 9am-4pm.
Where585 York Street, London, ON N6B 1R6
Visit their site →(519) 438-7071

Talize

Drop off only
TakesClothing, Fashion accessories, Shoes, Linens, Books, Toys, Housewares
Won't takeBaby car seats, Cribs, Strollers, Helmets, Smoke and CO2 detectors, Mattresses, Furniture, Large appliances, Hazardous materials, Broken items
CollectionQuoted verbatim from their donate page: 'Talize unfortunately doesn't offer home pick-ups.' Drop-off only, at the store.
Where1345 Huron Street, Unit 1A, London, ON N5V 2E9
Visit their site →(519) 455-1112

Not sure what you have got?

Photograph it and we will tell you what it is and what it is worth — including when the honest answer is that it is worth nothing.

See what it's worth Everything in London →

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