An old aftershave bottle presents two jobs: dealing with the product and dealing with the package. Handle the contents first.
Do not pour unwanted aftershave down a drain merely to empty the bottle for recycling.
Keep leftover aftershave closed and labeled, follow its label, and ask your local waste program whether it belongs in household hazardous waste or trash.
Check the Container First
Read the product name, ingredients, warnings, and disposal directions. Many aftershaves contain alcohol, but formulations differ and one brand cannot stand in for another.
If the bottle leaks, is corroded, or cannot safely contain the product, do not open, transfer, or transport it. Ask the local hazardous-materials official or fire department for instructions.
For a sound bottle with a missing label, keep it closed. Ask your local waste or HHW program for identification and handling instructions.
Keep it away from flames, sparks, heat, children, and pets while you arrange the next step.
Use or Offer Usable Aftershave
Use the product as directed if it is still suitable and you want it. Do not use an altered product or one affected by a recall.
An unopened, labeled bottle may be useful to someone who knowingly accepts it. Ask first because charities and personal-care programs often limit opened toiletries.
Keep it in the original package. Do not decant it into an unmarked decorative bottle for giveaway.
Dispose of Leftover Product
EPA household hazardous-waste guidance covers leftover products that can ignite, react, corrode, or cause toxicity. Read label signal words and disposal directions.
Ask your city or county whether it accepts aftershave, perfume, shaving lotion, or alcohol-based personal-care products at an HHW event or permanent site.
Delaware directs household perfume to its hazardous-waste collection events. This is a state example, not a national rule.
Give your program the exact product name, amount, condition, and label warnings.
Never mix aftershave with another chemical. Do not evaporate it, burn it, or pour it on the ground, into a storm drain, or into household plumbing.
Recycle an Empty Glass Bottle
Once the product is genuinely empty under its instructions, ask whether your local container-glass program accepts cosmetic or aftershave bottles.
Describe the bottle, cap, pump, metal collar, coating, and any mixed parts. Follow the program’s directions rather than dismantling the neck with knives or pliers.
Do not use a number stamped on the bottle as a guarantee of acceptance. The local program decides which containers and attachments it can process.
If the glass breaks, use local broken-glass instructions. Keep shards out of curbside recycling.
Reuse an Empty Bottle Carefully
A decorative bottle can hold dry nonfood items when it is empty, clean, stable, and free of sharp edges. Keep the original label if residue may remain.
Do not use an uncertain bottle for candles, food, drinks, homemade skin products, or an unlabeled fragrance mixture.
Related Guides
For similar packaging questions, see how to dispose of liquor bottles and what to do with old makeup.