How can I reuse or recycle joysticks and game pads?

Game padBecause I run a number of websites as well as generally having been around the whole internet thing for a while, I get a LOT of spam. A ridiculous amount. Thankfully most of it gets caught by my spam filter these days but it does get a bit over-sensitive sometime so I have to go through my spam bin about once a week to check there aren’t any false positives in there. (Handy hint: when doing so, sort by subject – makes it far easier to scan through.)

Anyway, the other day I spotted a message with the subject “joysticks” in my spam bin. Oh!, I thought, what a great Recycle This idea, there must be bazillions of obsolete and broken ones lying around!. Except it wasn’t that, it was a spammer trying to give me stock tips. Sigh.

But still though, what CAN be done with all those old joysticks and console game pads? Jewellery out of the buttons/D-pads perhaps?

(Photo by shikaz)

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7 Responses to “How can I reuse or recycle joysticks and game pads?”


  1. Bobbie says:

    I’ve used old computer “innards” to make christmas ornaments by breaking them apart even the boards and adding glitsy stuff.

  2. isma says:

    Can you please post some pictures of it?

    Mouse pads can be used to put underneath flower pods to avoid marks on the window seal.

  3. BB says:

    Not sure what you could do with that style joystick, but for the old ones with the big handles, you can turn them into coat hangers. Depending on how many old joysticks you have laying around, attach them to a piece of plywood with screws, then attach it to a wall. The plywood would have to be cut in such a way that the handles to the joysticks are in a slight angle up. This way no ones coat falls on the floor when the joysticks handles give a little.

    http://tinyurl.com/6tnvz

    Hope this helped!

  4. trish says:

    You can sell them to local game stores. If they’re broken or you can’t, you can cut the cords off and donate them to a daycare. Little kids don’t care if they really work.

  5. bj says:

    Perhaps we can keep or offer them as spare parts for other people who are into DIY repairs….just like myself…I do keep a few units around a swap usable parts to repair broken units.

  6. Bert says:

    Well, you can make a Winteremus staff of it!!

  7. Although I don’t think there is a better re-use option that Bert’s you could also try selling old/broken controllers on eBay, there are a lot of collectors of old gaming systems who may use it for spares and repairs. At very least you should take them to a recycling company who can dispose of them in an environmentally friendly manner. Check out http://www.weeerecycleelectronics.co.uk for some more information.



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