How can I reuse or recycle VHS video tapes?
I’ve always been a film fanatic and amassed quite a collection of videos over the years until DVDs came along. Most of my pre-recorded ones were given away and the ones we recorded ourselves went to live in the attic along with the VCR itself. A couple of years on, they’re still up there.
I hadn’t thought of them though until I posted the blog on televisions a couple of weeks ago then Brian emailed to say he had a similar collection of now-redundant tapes too – and now here we are: how can we reuse or recycle video tapes?
Best Suggestions
- Pass Them On: offer pre-recorded videos to your local charity shop or on Freecycle – not everyone’s made the switch to DVD and it’s a cheap way for them to pick up entertainment for free/cheap. Some charity shops don’t accept them any more because no one buys them – it differs from shop to shop and between areas.
- Reuse: Crafters have used the tape for crocheting or weaving. The resulting fabric if often used for retro-style bags or purse. Gardeners also use strips of video to deter birds from attacking seedlings.
- Recycle: Some recycling schemes do exist but they tend to be private and only available in a limited area (due to postage/transport costs). Details of some schemes are below.
- See the comments below for more suggestions and ideas
(Photo by vierdrie)
The cases make great lunch boxes. I knit with the tape and since the health scares I now knit with my gardening gloves, outside in warm weather and fresh air. If you can wire the cassette shells together neatly they make quirky wastepaper baskets or a good base for scrim/plaster pots or concrete planters. The earlier memento box idea is great as the cases fit so well in bookcases amongst the books.
“Since the health scares I now knit with my gardening gloves, outside in warm weather and fresh air. ”
Yet you advocate them to be used as “lunch boxes” afterwards? The tape continues to shed and the particulates breathed in and skin absorbed by anyone who uses them. It just doesn’t make much sense to create with the tape…and then pass on the hazards to others.
Or something like this:
http://www.noiseaddicts.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/jimi_hendrix_2.jpg
:D
Excuse me…. what health scares??
If you go through all the comments here…you will read. However, I can post this link for you too so you get to it nice and quick..;-)
http://www.flickr.com/groups/plastic/discuss/72157624120579841/
although I would love to reUSE cassette and VHS tapes…I will not be crocheting, weaving, knitting etc. Not worth particulate inhalations, or creating things that buyers (of my work) would be exposed to.
http://www.ems-europe.co.uk/vhs_recycling.php
This free service is open to domestic house holders only and not businesses. We can only accept a maximum of 100 items per household
Cant you jsut drop the video’s in then plastic re-cylcing container?
No you can’t. the plastic cannot be recycled in regular plastic recycling. I am not sure if even doing so would not jam up current methods of machines that recycle plastics. Non the less, since those cases don’t have the recycling symbol on them….they won’t go into the plastic waste stream like milk jugs, detergent bottles, and soda or water bottles.
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A great idea was recently suggested to us by somebody living the ‘green’ life in the country – use videos (in cases) as insulation for buildings. It seems they provide the right kind of air gaps necessary for keeping warmth where required.
So the walls of my lovely shed (sheds are not just for blokes!) is going to be lined with a double layer of videos, which fit perfectly between the wooden support struts, then panelled over with tongue-&-groove panels.
Local charity shops have been more than willing to offload their now-unsellable videos!
Not very creative I know but there is a company now that recycle tapes (audio and video). They’ll take up to 100 items per household for free although the sender has to pay the postage. They’re called Environmental Media Solutions and are based in Bristol, UK. I shall be taking mine there in the next week.
Sorry, it’s just published me as anonymous but I’m not really, honest!
Found this site looking for the best way to use or dispose of old videos – thank you everyone – just have to comment on the idea of using them as insulation in buildings. The tapes are highly inflammable and can spontaneously combust if there are lots of them and they get too warm, so that might not be a good idea. Sorry, no references for that at the moment, but worth checking.