How can I reuse or recycle spiral book bindings?

binding.jpgWe’ve had an email from Barbara Patrick:

I have a whole box of these plastic spiral book binding thingies at my work and no idea what to do with them. I would love some creative crafty suggestions. I live in United States and our currently recycling only takes 1’s & 2’s. Our print shop doesn’t want them. ugh! help!

If they’re still in (re)usable condition, maybe a school (or the like) would be able to use them in their reprographics department? A print shop might worry about them being in less than perfect condition but a school probably wouldn’t be as fussy.

If I had access to one of the whole punching machine things, I’d probably use them for making scrap paper notepads but if not, I suspect that would be a lot of hassle and I’d just use a bulldog clip as I usually do instead.

Any other suggestions?

(Photo supplied by Babs)

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6 Responses to “How can I reuse or recycle spiral book bindings?”


  1. Tammy says:

    I use them to help young seedlings stand tall in my vegetable garden, cutting them to the right length as needed.

  2. Elouise says:

    I offered them to a photocopy shop. As they were in good condition, they accepted them to reuse.

  3. pam says:

    You can always give office items to SCHOOLS. In the US, anyway, they are always in need of extra supplies of all kinds.

  4. Katie says:

    My daughter is partially sighted and her school goes through a lot of these. All of her books have to be photocopied, blown up and bound using these. So I know any school with a special needs unit would love to have them. She goes to the Charles Dickens in Broadstairs, Kent. Or sent them to the Royal School for the Blind in London.

  5. Bryan Bates says:

    I’ve had some success using them to attach fabric to small PVC pipe for quick and dirty stage backdrops. Just wrap the fabric around the pipe, and put a section of the binding over it.

    It’s not super strong, but it’s easy to remove, and doesn’t damage the pipe or the fabric.

  6. JM Latour says:

    When my cats were younger they would love to play with old book spirals. I’ve also seen some cat toys in retail stores made of these. If reusing for cat toys just make sure there are no sharp ends or pieces that could break off if chewed.



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