Recycle Your….Old Bicycle
The non-profit New York City based organization Recycle-A-Bicycle accepts tax-deductable donations of old bicycles at either at their physical retail locations, via specially arranged Manhattan pickups (if you have a large quantity of 10 or more bikes) or through the mail. In addition to diverting an estimated 36,000 pounds of waste (the equivalent of 1,200) bicycles from entering New York City landfills, the organization refurbishes donated bikes and offers them to community youth once they’ve earned a qualifying number of volunteer hours or salvages usable parts and sells them at a reduced price to cycling enthusiasts. Colorado-based Recycle Bicycles also gladly accepts old bicycles and cycling equipment, as do countless other organizations across the world such as Massachusetts’ Bikes Not Bombs, Seattle’s Bike Works, California’s Cycles of Change APC Bike Shop and Portland, Oregon’s Bike Farm. If you'd like an option really close to home, check with your local Goodwill or Salvation Army, or when in doubt, post a picture and description of the bike you'd like to offer a good soul on Craigslist or Freecycle.
Recycle Your…Old Latex Swimming Caps
Fancy the idea of your old latex swimming caps being given a new lease on life as a pair of flip flops? Then participate in EcoAthlete.org’s collection program by sending your old caps to Yvonne Krause at 4614 Dayton Ave N Seattle, WA 98103. She and her cohorts are currently in the process of conducting research and development along with a very popular eco-responsible outdoor clothing company regarding the end product protential of swimming-cap-flip-flops and hope to launch the final recycled product in the near future.
Recycle Your…Worn Out Climbing Rope
Maine-based Sterling Rope Company has accepted all worse-for-the-wear petroleum based cords (via their corporate office) since 2006 via mail at 26 Morin Street Biddeford, ME 04005-4413 and on occasion through retail partners who offer redemption opportunities at major climbing events. All rope that is salvageable is repurposed into dog collars, dog tags, bracelets and key chains, and anything that is beyond repair is ground up, melted down and turned into new climbing ropes.
Recycle Your…Old Tennis Balls
Balls that have lost their bouncy zing no longer need to be relegated to the back of the closet, your dog’s mouth – or worse – the garbage pail. Now that Rebounces has come onto the scene, balls can be instantly repressurized, eliminating an estimated 20,000 tons of tennis ball waste annually. The company offers prepaid shipping for all donations of 100 or more balls that are considered reasonable quality – no dried doggie slime or visible muck. Any balls that can’t be recharged are passed on to schools, hospitals and adult care facilities where they are cut in half and placed on the bottom of furniture and walkers.
Recycle Your…Old Sports Garments
Since 2005, Patagonia’s Common Threads Garment Recycling program has collected all brands of laundered polyester-based Capilene, Polartec fleece clothing (no matter the manufacturer), Patagonia brand cotton t-shirts and anything that bears a Common Threads tag at their retail locations or service centers as well as through the mail at 8550 White Fir Street Reno, NV 89523-8939. Once they collect donations, Patagonia ships them via large containers to Japan where their fiber-to-fiber recycling process is implemented. During that time, shredded material is granulated, pelletized, melted down, polymerized, and then spun into new polyester filament fiber, yielding products such as their Capilene baselayer, R1 Jackets and Synchilla Marsupials.
Recycle Your…Assorted Used Sports Equipment
Organizations like Play It Again Sports and Fair Trade Sports have been at the recycled sports equipment and apparel game for years now, but their efforts bear repeating. Rather than turning old items into new, they offer a new home to gear that may look a little rough around the edges but is still perfectly usable, quite frequently at deeply discounted prices. This is a viable option if you’re really intent on keeping your equipment out of the landfill, and in many cases, they actually offer a little cash incentive to sweeten the deal, so everyone wins in the end.
Recycle Your…Worn Out Athletic Shoes and Sneakers
Since 1990, eco-conscious consumers have been able to donate their old metal-free athletic shoes or sneakers to any Nike Reuse-A-Shoe special event or recycling location (including their free standing stores in the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand). The company, which has accepted 1.5 million sneakers each year since the program’s inception, will sort their manufacturing scrap materials and production rejects along with all donated worn out kicks (no matter the brand) into outsole rubber, midsole foam and fabric fiber uppers, also known as “Nike Grind”. This material is then used to create new shoes, clothing and athletic surfaces like gym flooring tiles, tracks, playgrounds and courts. You might also want to take advantage of Recycled Runners' online shoe recycling directory.
Recycle Your…Worn Out Yoga Mat
There are only so many downward dog poses you can pull off before your mat literally curls up and dies, which is why Eugene, Oregon’s Recycle Your Mat has devised a practical eco-solution that not only keeps them out of the landfill but also gives the donor a 20% discount on a future purchase at eco-friendly yoga store Manduka.com. Interested parties can either mail their old mat to Recycle Your Mat at 1855 West 2nd Avenue Eugene, OR 97402, find a participating Recycle Your Mat program in their neck of the woods or sign up on Recycle Your Mat’s website to launch their own collection program. The best part is that work with US based companies to either rehabilitate donated mats (and offer them to interested local community charities) or upcycle the crumbled mat material into laptop bag liners, yoga gear, and various other consumer products.
Elia T.
said on March 22, 2010