Originally written: November 1, 2013
Updated: December 28, 2019
What should I do with my Lead-contaminated dishes? [Or toys, or piggy banks, etc.]
Alternate Title: To Toss or Not To Toss?
I often get asked “Well, now that we know it contains bio-available lead, what are we supposed to do with it? Do we just put it in the trash? Or do we have to dispose of it as toxic waste?”
Please note: not all of the consumer goods that I test and post the results for contain bio-available Lead, only some do for certain – and with others it is unclear or has not been tested. In my opinion it is not worth the risk to have these things in your home. You can read more about that HERE.
This is both a moral and ethical question—one that calls into question our laws, our standards and our collective conscience and intentions for the future.
I don’t have a definitive answer for you, but here are some thoughts:
Vintage Leaded Corelle China
1. I am working on starting a “lead museum”—a bit of an informal collection of things I have found in my travels that contain (expected or unexpected) high levels of lead. [Please consider sending the item to me (especially if it is is small / inexpensive to ship!)] This traveling museum exhibit will hopefully educate thousands of people for generations into the future once it is finished!
New Leaded Pioneer Woman Piece
2. Was it recently manufactured? If so, please consider returning it. Even if what you bought was being sold as “crystal” (as an example), I am sure you did not understand the implications of drinking from leaded crystal when you purchased it – and had you known, you would have purchased a similar item in unleaded glass. Returning these things to the manufacturer will help encourage more environmentally responsible manufacturing processes (and hopefully you can also get your money back).
Antique Leaded Winnie The Pooh Book
3. Is it a building component or an antique? You have to determine if it has any value – to you or to someone else, and whether that value (as an antique [and important piece of our collective history] for example) outweighs the potential for the item to poison a child [or an adult for that matter.] Can it be sealed or refinished to make it less hazardous? Will the sealing or refinishing diminish the value? Is it chipping or peeling? And yes – as a consumer (and not as a contractor) you are fully and legally allowed to dispose of these things in your everyday household trash. Could you dispose of it as hazardous waste? Probably yes. Would the hazardous waste site think you are crazy for taking an old piggy bank to their site instead of the regular dump? Probably yes. If you sell it on eBay please disclose that it has high levels of Lead.
4. My main question is this: Is it better in our world – above ground? or below ground? Even though landfill is an issue (and the potential for leaded items to impact the water table) I think given the amount of toxicity we have already in our landfills and the huge potential for a leaded item to cause harm, it is better for these items to go back underground – with the lead ending up at least a little closer to where it came from. It’s not the same as putting it back in a mine, but it will give the next couple of generations the opportunity to recover their collective cognitive potential – making it possible for the young adults 20 or 30 years from now to come up with an even better solution.
As always please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for reading and for sharing my posts!
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
Originally Written: November 1, 2013
Picture below: Vintage Leaded Crazy Daisy / Spring Blossom Green Pyrex Mixing Bowls. Click each of the images on this post to read more about these items. Thank you!
We have this piggy bank, in pink. It was purchased in 2010. Was the one tested old or new???
It was new. When we contacted Tiffany’s we were told that the item is not classified as an “item intended for children” as it is ceramic and considered (by them) to be “decorative” – with their logic (backwards logic if you ask me) being that children don’t play with decorations.
From my point of view a piggy bank is intended for children and should be regulated just as any other toy for children is regulated. While the child is not likely to get poisoned from something like this (because it is probably not going to chip, crack or craze with regular use since it is not a food-use item and not exposed to heating, cooking, etc.) the concern for me is when it breaks and that sort of thing. Also – from a manufacturing and social responsibility standpoint – Tiffany’s of all places should NOT be using lead in the manufacturing of items that are clearly designed for children. The level of lead found in this piece was beyond a “contaminant” level and was likely an additive to the glaze, and there are clearly lead-free glazes out there so there is no reason this should not be 100% lead-free. #endrant 😉
Thanks for your question Katie!
Thanks so much for your quick response. I would never have guessed this item was laced with lead. You are so right. This piggy bank is clearly made for a child, very fragile, handled (and shaken! oh) frequently. Shudder. The danger is clear.
I recently came across this post and we unfortunately have a similar bank from Tiffanys. Although we will remove it from our child’s room I am still unclear about the risk this and other items such as some bakeware or leaded crystal glasses pose. Is the danger of exposure present from simply touching these items? Does lead in the glaze or in glasses come off on hands? Or is the danger from when these items are broken, chipped, and/or we are eating and drinking from these products?
Is there any concern about regular household dust settling on these items and lead from the items leaching into household dust (therefore creating lead laden dust?) we have a few decorative crystal pitchers and vases on our shelves that we don’t use but I am concerned now about handling them to pack them up or stirring up any dust that has been sitting on them. Any clarification would be so much appreciated!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_poisoning
Search for the word dust. But still, ingestion is apparently the dangerous part, even for dust.
Thank you for posting this! I didn’t even think to consider the ceramic items my children have in their playroom – Old ceramic car “piggy” bank that was my husband’s growing up and some little Easter grass pots from Target that we got this year that are imports. I put them away until I decide on what to do with them. As I put them away in my secret kitchen nook, I realized I have more things that I’m not so sure of now – cake stands and bakeware from Portugal – AH! I wish I had one of those detection guns.
Thanks a lot for your article Tamara.
When you say seal the item, does keeping in enclosed glass help as sealing and prevent spreading?
Or even sealing it with saran wrap and being kept?
Hi Tamara, Have you ever check the dinnerware, ever so popular in the 50’s thru 70’s made by Buffalo China? Thank you in advance.
I think I have, and I believe it is highly leaded, however I am sorry to say I don’t have any examples only site. Is this from Upstate New York? Do you have some images you could share with me?
What about the butterfly patterned plates from Corelle that go with the bowls you mentioned? Most of my bowls have broken and been replaced by plain white ones, but I have a lot of plates! (Dessert plates, lunch plates, dinner plates, as well as cups and saucers)
Those are also most likely leaded (or high cadmium – or possibly both.)
What about the Presidential Collections of Lenox Fine China, such as Autumn with the colorful glazed dots on the fruits and flowers?
I inherited the Autumn set from my mother. I would love to know how much lead is in them.
Hi Tamara,
Our family has a large set of Corelle Abundance Vitrelle pattern dishes that we use daily. This pattern is no longer being made. It was produced from 1990-2012. We’ve searched everywhere but can’t find if it contains lead. Can you help us?
Hi Koa,
Dishes from that period are often high lead. I won’t recall from the name of the pattern if I tested them (they are not marked with the pattern name on the back so I have to research the pattern name for the ones I post). Feel free to send me a photo (or post a photo on my Facebook page) and I will let you know if I have tested them.
Tamara
Have you tested cast iron pans?
Good question! I’d like to know as well. Esp Lodge CI.
Should I clean a specific way in my cupboards if we have been using vintage decorative Corelle dishes that I now know to dispose of? Is there anything I should use to try and get rid of any residue lead or other things?
Tamara, you said to ship them to you for your museum. Where do I ship to?
Tamara, this is a life-changing day for reasons I will explain in an email, but I want to publicly post my thanks to you for the work you are doing and for this and other clearly written and informative posts.
Thank you so much for commenting J! I got your e-mail and will respond soon!
Tamara
When I clicked on “Click HERE to see a good example of a responsible eBay post for a Leaded item.” it said the listing was no longer available. Can you include a newer example?
Hi Meg, thanks for commenting – thanks for the heads up! I will fix the link a.s.a.p.
Tamara
Ann 3-9-2019
Hi Tamara. I own an awful lot of Royal Doulton china ( Old English Rose and Sweet pea ) How do they fare in the lead department.
Hi Ann,
Any of the vintage patterns are likely very high lead and not suitable for food use (especially in the absence of testing.) These vintage pieces should only be used for decorative purposes (and ideally behind glass.)
It looks as though the company is no longer in business, but for companies that are in business I recommend attempting to return them if at all possible – here’s a post about that: https://tamararubin.com/2013/11/what-should-i-do-with-my-lead-contaminated-dishes-to-toss-or-not-to-toss/
Thank you for commenting!
Tamara
Hello Tamara,
My wedding china is Wedgwood Belle Fleur bone china with a platinum band and was purchased in 1965. Do you know if it contains lead?
Hi Susan, while this is just an educated guess – I would say with a large degree of confidence that it is likely very high Lead.
I would not eat off of any china (especially Wedgwood china) from 1965 in the absence of testing.
Here is the “Wedgwood” category on my site for you to look through: https://tamararubin.com/category/wedgwood/
Here’s a post about sending me a dish so I can post the test results on my blog (if you are interested in helping others in that way and expanding the knowledge base here on the site): https://tamararubin.com/2019/08/tamara-can-i-send-you-one-of-my-dishes-to-test-for-lead/
Thank you for commenting.
Tamara
Have you tested any Denby from England? Gypsy pattern (likely from the 1970s or 80s). I’ve been saving a set for my daughter. I didn’t see any mentioned on the site. Or more Mikasa patterns, such as Country Classic (the mid 1990s)? What about depression glass dishes? Various Sandwich patterns from the 1950s, like Duncan Hines, not the true antique Sandwich glass. Myott Stafordshire Chelsea Bird in red? I am a china hoarder. This is so scary. Thanks.
Dear Tamara,
Thank you so much for sharing your article!
We are working on our wedding registry and I was going to add Bone China dining set till I ran into your website. I have a question, have you had a chance to test new Mikasa Lausanne 40-piece Bone China Dinnerware Set? It is currently sold at Costco for such a good price but I definable won’t purchase it if it contain lead 🙁 Thank you for your reply in advance!
Anya Tychinskaya
I inherited a set of beautiful dragon pattern dishes made in pre-WWII china. I did test with a kit I bought at the hardware store, and it did test positive for lead. It is so beautiful I don’t want to part with it, although I use it so rarely (and never for acidic food), that I would like to know if such china can in fact be sealed so it can be used.
Hi Ellie, it cannot be sealed. Home test kits are not appropriate for testing dishes. You can read more about that on these two links:
!) https://tamararubin.com/2017/02/ask-tamara-q-can-i-test-my-dishes-for-lead-with-a-leadcheck-swab-a-sometimes-but-not-always-click-to-read-more/
2) https://tamararubin.com/topics/does-vintage-and-new-functional-pottery-and-dishware-have-unsafe-levels-of-lead/
Thank you for commenting.
Tamara
I have been a collector of Corelle my collection has included a new pattern for every season of some of the oldest prints including butterfly gold, Indian summer, spring meadow and wildflower. I’m talking not just the normal place settings but tea pots, percolators, platters serving bowls, salt baked speller shakers, creamer dispensers etc. I’m just now learning of these being high in lead and would love to send you a few of my pieces to be tested. Could you send me info?
Hi Jennifer – why don’t you start with emailing me some photos andI will give you an educated guess on what the toxicant concerns might be and we can take it from there, ok? My email address is TamaraRubin@mac.com or you can text my cell: 415-609-3182.
Thank you for commenting! & Happy New Year!
Tamara
Have you tested Corelle Indian Summer? I have this in my travel trailer now and ate off it for 35 years. We purchased new Corelle in 2010.
Can you clarify about lead in vintage Corelle? Specifically is it only in decorative patterns, or is also in the plain white? thanks
Hi Bonnie!
Thanks for commenting.
Yes, all plain white Corelle that I have tested (vintage and new) have been Lead-free (and Cadmium-free, arsenic-free and mercury-free too!)
Here’s an example with the full test results for a plain white piece: https://tamararubin.com/2018/11/corelle-vitrelle-plain-white-bowl-purchased-new-in-2017-lead-free/
Tamara
I haven’t found anywhere on this site that you’ve previously tested, or have been asked to test, the brown Marcrest stoneware that was made in the USA in the early 60’s.
Am I correct in assuming that the matching glasses are also high in lead?
Also have you tested the Christmas themed dishes that are everywhere?
Hi Jane, which matching glasses are you referring to?
Thanks – T
Hi,
I have many pieces of the Crazy Daisy Corelle I plan to get rid of it after reading your information. Are new Corelle dishes safe to use? There is a new pattern I would like to use, but I won’t be buying it if it’s not safe.
Also, what about vintage Cornflower Blue CorningWare? I still use a few pieces of that.
Thanks for the information and for what you are doing.