Bicycle Helmet Recycling

[gerismithbenjamin]

I am decluttering my basment. I rounded up 4 bicycle helmets that should be discarded. Their manufacturing dates are all from the late 1990’s.I read that helmets should be discarded after 5 years.

I wanted to recycle them, but I couldn’t find a drop off location for bicycle helmets nearby. After some sleuthing on the Internet I found a list of mail-back locations. The closest locations are in PA and NC through the Tegrant Corp. among others.

I was over at REI and asked them if they ever thought of recycling helmets. A salesperson said ‘no’, but it sounded like such a good idea that he would mention it to their recycling committee. A week ago, the committee was trying to find out how their home county- Fairfax- could facilitate the process.

How about Arlington County with it’s awards for Recycling and Bicycle friendliness show them how to do it? Why can’t we have a Bicycle Helmet Recycling Drop-Off each spring when children and adults break out of their winter doldrums with new helmets. I know the real cyclists have been using theirs through snow, freezing rain and ice

Couldn’t we partner with some bicycle shops and other related businesses and send a truckload to the nearest foam recycling location. I know the specter of carbon emissions raises its head, but better than throwing them in a growing landfill.

For now, I’m shipping mine. Here are the links for more info.

http://epspackaging.org/images/stories/National_Mail_Back_Locations0810.pdf

http://epspackaging.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=4

Topic

[adamx]

that’s a great idea and makes me wonder how much bicycle part recycling anyone is doing…i read in Potomac Peddler recently of an effort in MD (monty county?) to facilitate ‘tire’ recycling cause bicycle tires weren’t accepted with car tires…how many tires, tubes and helmets are shops tossing into the trash everday?

[gerismithbenjamin]

@adamx 2394 wrote:

that’s a great idea and makes me wonder how much bicycle part recycling anyone is doing…i read in Potomac Peddler recently of an effort in MD (monty county?) to facilitate ‘tire’ recycling cause bicycle tires weren’t accepted with car tires…how many tires, tubes and helmets are shops tossing into the trash everday?

Great thinking, Adam. I focused on the helmet, but what about recycling the other bike parts that are changed more frequently.

[consularrider]

I’ve recycled small metal parts through Arlington’s curbside program (as instructed by their waste management office). Conte’s in Ballston used to collect tires and tubes for recycling, but have stopped.

[Author]

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