# Recycling old videotapes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 3, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-old-videotapes/516225 "2009-11-03T23:48:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-old-videotapes/516225/1 "2009-11-03T23:48:11Z")
From what I can google on the subject, there is no real way of recycling old videotapes. The main suggestion is to give them away, but in this day, who would want them? I assume that our regular plastic recycling facility does not want them. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-old-videotapes/516225/2 "2009-11-03T23:54:31Z")
Well, no, you can’t recycle them like soda bottles or newspapers. There’s a ton of stuff out there you can’t recycle, like margarine and yogurt containers, and old VHS tapes, too. ask.metafilter.com/80164/old-videotapes at least there is ‘something’ that can be done with them according to this. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-old-videotapes/516225/3 "2009-11-04T00:46:44Z")
people still use vcr tapes for their intended purpose, keep looking. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-old-videotapes/516225/4 "2009-11-04T00:52:04Z")
I tried knitting with the tape, but was less than successful. (my experiments appear in the side column on this page: [http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/french\_knitting\_3/](http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/french_knitting_3/) ) ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-old-videotapes/516225/5 "2009-11-04T01:31:26Z")
I paid to get mine recycled by [greendisk.com](http://www.greendisk.com/). ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-old-videotapes/516225/6 "2009-11-04T16:49:21Z")
They must have some arts and crafts applications should one have a bit of creative bent. I use pieces of tape to stabilize kite modifications. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-old-videotapes/516225/7 "2009-11-04T18:12:22Z")
try retirement homes. lots of elderly use vcr for archiving and time shifting. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-old-videotapes/516225/8 "2009-11-05T08:01:30Z")
Here in Minneapolis, we can just throw them in the trash. Since that is burned, and they are mainly plastic (made from oil), they burn well, and thus are recycled into energy. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recycling-old-videotapes/516225/9 "2009-11-05T16:43:41Z")
About once a month, I rent a booth at the local flea market and sell videos for $1 a tape. You would be amazed how many people still want them. It breaks down into 3 basic types: 1. Collector: someone who has been collecting videos forever, carries a want list with them, and will buy 20 or 30 at a go if they are in good shape (possibly the hoarding type) 2. Parents: lots of folks have given their little kids their old VCRs, so they buy up all the kids’ tapes you can put out 3. Gen Xers: they still have their old VCR, and if they can get a copy of something they loved as a teen, they’re happy to do so. Forgot to mention: I’ve made as much as $300 in a weekend doing this, or as little as $150 or so.