Intro to Recycling Clay

You can recycle clay, or reclaim clay, so it can be used again. Many potters keep their non contaminated (21) clay scraps from trimming, broken greenware, or old throwing slurry (3) to recycle and reuse. As long as clay has not been fired it can be recycled (10, 21). It can be a time consuming process (2), physically demanding and take up a lot of space (14) but it doesn’t have to be an unreasonable amount of work (3). Plus, recycled clay is clay that you don’t have to buy! As the old saying goes, there are about as many ways to recycle clay as there are potters. Many variations are presented below. Find the process that suits your situation the best. Of course, if you have access to a pugmill, it can be used to easily recycle clay. (20).

Safety

The most notable hazard to be conscience of when you recycle clay is breathing clay dust from dry clay (11). To be safe, wear a good quality respirator mask and eye protection (14). Also be careful when lifting large amounts of clay to be sure not to strain any part of your body.

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