Frequently Asked Questions
You asked. Behold, we answer. Get all the skinny on how to help protect our natural splendor.
Get this—dark green single-use tanks aren’t actually “recyclable.”
Yes, they’re made of recyclable materials. But there are two BIG problems with the idea of recycling single-use propane tanks.
Almost always, old discarded tanks still have measurable amounts of liquid propane inside. Since you can’t squeeze them like a tube of toothpaste, this makes them hazardous when collected as trash. You can’t compact or even deconstruct a propane tank because that leftover propane can cause explosions or fires that lead to injuries and expensive equipment damage. That’s why they’re classified as hazardous waste, which makes them expensive to recycle.
Also, they’re often discarded at campgrounds and parks that end up paying for their collection, transportation, and disposal. This puts a strain on our parks funds and resources.
Quite often, more than they cost to buy. Crazy, right?
The only safe, proper way to recycle a tank is to remove any leftover liquid propane so the tank can be safely punctured. It’s a time-consuming process than involves hazardous manual labor.
That’s a great question. The full cost isn’t actually paid when you buy. Realistically, it’s often more expensive for a park to recover and recycle single-use tanks.
That’s why our exchange program is so important. Instead of paying to recycle old single-use tanks, parks can focus their money where it matters—maintaining and caring for our natural world.
Our program covers the cost of retiring and recycling Little Kamper tanks when they reach the end of their service period or if they fail to pass our safety testing. We recover all unused liquid propane before the tanks are retired and we recycle our own tanks.
That’s the most important question of all.
Every Little Kamper exchange equals one less tank thrown away. Our exchange program brings our cylinders back through our retailers to our production center for inspection, cleaning, and refilling.
Over the course of a ten year period, one Little Kamper tank can keep more than 30 dark green, single-use tanks out of landfill!