UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => get involved: access, environment, BMC => Topic started by: petejh on November 11, 2022, 04:18:15 pm
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Did a quick search but couldn't find much on this topic. Is there anywhere in the UK that collects old ropes for recycling?
I'm moving house soon and have a ton of old ropes littering up my garage from the last 20 years of use.. both dynamic and low-stretch. I've never wanted to just bin them as I think they should be recycled. I looked into household recycling centres but they don't recycle ropes. Looked into rope recycling in climbing industry in the UK and it seems patchy, with some old schemes no longer running. I'm aware of the odd cottage industry making wallets, chalk bags and doormats but this isn't going to solve the issue, there's only so many dog leads and doormats required!
I noticed on Beal's website that they run quite a comprehensive network of collection points around France, in shops and walls. The ropes get taken back to Beal and broken down back into plastic particles for reuse in the plastics industry. Also noticed Edelrid have produced the world's first rope made from recycled climbing ropes: https://edelrid.com/gb-en/sport/ropes/neo-3r
Details of rope collection schemes:
France
https://www.beal-planet.com/pdf/Liste-des-points-de-collecte-Beal-Recyclage.pdf
https://www.beal-planet.com/en/content/19-eco-responsabiliy
Germany & Austria:
https://www.newseed.de/pages/kletterseil-recyclingstation
US
https://sterlingrope.com/rope-recycling-program
https://eu.patagonia.com/gb/en/stories/recycle-your-ol/story-20703.html
I think this is something we in the climbing community in the UK should be putting a bit more effort into if they can make it work in France, Germany and the US. Ropes are just plastic consumables after all.
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Good call.
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SEDNA process fishing nets to make carpets, maybe they'd accept ropes?
Actually, they just make carpets with Econyl, from associated weavers. But I guess they will get their recycled nylon from someone - that might be the person to ask.
https://sedna-carpet.co.uk/home
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Are slings and quickdraws any more recyclable? I just replaced all mine, as I started considering some are 15-20 years old (when did Mambas come out anyway?).
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when did Mambas come out anyway?
1993 (https://dmmwales.com/journal/november-2021/mamba)
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Shit, that's scary. Glad I've binned the lot.
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I dropped off some old ropes at awesome walls stockport Pete. Not sure what the deal is but I was told that someone drops in and collects them periodically to use for local crafts or somesuch. Get its not recycling but better than landfill. If you gave them a call I'm sure they'd tell you. It was gone when I next went there anyway!
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Sorry no idea on recycling but it has occurred to me in the past, usually whilst cutting old and battered ropes down and observing how pristine the core is(or at least appears), that a rope 're-sheathing' service might be a good idea. Probably in a minority of one here but I'll press on....a core is typically made up of 10 or so main strands. These strands are themselves made up of 3 thinner threads that are braided together. My guess is if you unbraid all the threads, replace ~25% (?) of them with new for peace of mind then braid 'em all back together and whack on a new sheath you'll have a rope that handles, performs and tests as new. For further peace of mind, you could easily destructively test one of the old strands that was being replaced to check (infer) that they're all still good.
On a similar note if manufactures made just the first and last 3 meters or so of a sport rope sheath much more hardwearing by augmenting with something like kevlar, heat/dirt/water/resistance treating, beefing up the the sheath weave count, etc. a sport rope would last and remain full length for so much longer. A cynic might wonder if manufacturers might want their ropes to wear reasonably quickly.....
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I think the problem is they make them in much longer lengths, only cutting them to sell. We used to buy 700m lengths and I think they would have been longer if the packed size didn’t become unmanageable.
But Beal, maybe others, have made ropes where the weave changes in places, as a marker iirc but I think for end longevity too.
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General recycle/repair info here:
https://www.thebmc.co.uk/where-can-I-reuse-repair-recycle-my-outdoor-climbing-hiking-gear (https://www.thebmc.co.uk/where-can-I-reuse-repair-recycle-my-outdoor-climbing-hiking-gear)