Reduce? Reuse? Recycle?

[ZealouslyB]

So..... last week I had to buy a new helmet, as I had a huge crack in my old helmet (still a mystery how that happened). Now I have 2 helmets sitting around, and I have no clue what to do with them! I certainly am not going to throw it in the trash.

That got me to thinking.... what other old gear do I have sitting around that's just not going anywhere? What options are out there for recycling or reusing old ski gear? I really think that we, as a community that heavily uses the environment, need to be aware of what alternatives are out there for reducing our wear n' tear on the environment as well as our waste.

Now, I know many Divas are also forward thinking and try to live environmentally conscious lives. Soooooo..... I figured I'd turn to you all for some help.

Here are a few neat resources that I'm aware of:

Reduce: Purl wax has introduced an environmentally friendly, fluoro- and hydro carbon-free line of waxes to help reduce pollution of ski areas/water with these substances. Check out their philosophy here.

Reuse: Old skis have been used to make a plethora of unique, charming and functional items. Common examples are ski fences, adirondack chairs or other furniture, and shot skis. Green Mountain Ski Furniture makes many kinds.

Recycle: Marmot now makes a line of gear made from organically grown and/or recyclable materials. They also have a program for recycling this line of clothing once you're done. Click here to learn more.

What other programs, companies, etc are available for ski gear? And does anyone have a creative idea for what to do with my old helmets???

 

[geargrrl]

Helmets are one thing you SHOULD dispose of. Recycling the foam and plastic would be a good thing but I have never heard of it for helmets.

Old helmets that cracked or degraded should be disposed of because they have lost their protective ability.

Can you make a planter of them?

 

[ZealouslyB]

Oh, there's no doubt that I needed a new one.... I just don't want to send it off in the trash to a landfill. Something tells me that helmets don't breakdown easy. But a planter, that's a possibility!

 

[Swamp Dog]

and what about old boots? Now that I have my new ones I was wondering how I dispose of the old ones.

 

[Gloria]

Hanging planter might be really cute.

The other thing, sort of related oddly, I will do with that type of styro foam stuff is break it up and use it for drainage in the bottom of planters instead of rocks. It works good for those really huge outdoor planters, especially if you don't want to buy a truckload of dirt to fill it, I fill them halfway with styrofoam chunks and then they are much easier to move around as well. Saves water too in the heat of summer, because it doesn't hold heat like rocks do so the soil doesn't dry out as quickly either.

 

[cinnabon]

and what about old boots? Now that I have my new ones I was wondering how I dispose of the old ones.

ebay / craig's list. I have gotten rid of all my skis & boots this way. Someone will probably be happy to pay $50 for your packed out boots! Actually, the last pair I sold were Tecnicas with Hotform, so the person could mold them to their own feet.

Skis are a bit of a pain to ship, so CL is probably easier. I have mostly used ebay... I did this with my first helmet (it wasn't damaged at all), as well as gloves & other stuff. Might as well get some of that money back!

Another way to dispose of stuff is early season ski swaps, etc.

 

[volklgirl]

Check your local ski area for reuse programs.....many of them will donate the old equipment to local ski clubs or ski teams or low income and adaptive programs (obviously not the cracked helmet, though). You can usually get an receipt and use it for a tax write-off, too.

 

[PowDiva85]

SIA (ski industry association) has started a ski recycling program. I only know of my shop and one other doing it and we are located in Colorado but maybe there is one near you. I would check the SIA website. We charge a 2.00 $ fee on any new gear purchase which goes towards funding the new program and you can bring skis, boots, bindings, snowboards, XC skis... basically anything and stuff that is decent gets used by local charity programs for at risk youth and anything that is trash gets chewed up by this huge machine and spit out as building materials!

 

[ZealouslyB]

Thanks PowDiva, I think I might check that out.

Here's another company doing their part- Patagonia's Common Threads Recycling Program

 

[Robyn]

PowDiva is probably mentioning the shop I know of that does recycling as either the one she works at or the other shop. Here's a link https://coloradoskiandgolf.com/info_center for you.

 

[ZealouslyB]

That's really cool. I was reading about a similar program in other countries (La Plagne) that has been running since 2005 or 2006 and has also been very successful. I hope that they're able to broaden such a program across the states so it's easily accessible to all.

For helmets, here's an interesting article from Helmets.org. They suggest that you remove the foam & padding from the helmet, then put the plastic shell in with plastic recyclables. You just have to make sure the shell isn't made of polycarbonate or fiberglass or other non-recyclable material. The foam can be used like packing peanuts, or as Gloria mentioned, for soil drainage in flower pots.

Two other creative solutions:

* Make a beer helmet
* Donate/sell to a costume shop or theater group (since mine isn't good for actual protective purposes)

 

[Slidergirl]

Maybe donate the helmet to science. Check out your helmet manufacturer's website. Email them and see if they take backed damaged helmets. I know that some motorcycle helmet mfgrs do this so they can analyze the failure points of the helmet in hopes of making better helmets.

As for the ski boots: My friend had her wedding at the top of the tram at Snowbird in November. At the reception, the table centerpieces were old ski boots, all redone with white paint mixed with silver glitter. The boots were holding bouquets of different white and silver flowers.