Recycling Inner Tubes

chalex90

I, like most serious riders, tend to change my inner tubes pretty much every time my back wheel even hints at going flat to quickly. Being fairly ethically minded i don't feel right just chucking them in the bin so i tend to have a stock pile of broken inner tubs until i eventually have to throw them out. Is there anywhere i can take my inner tubes to get recycled. 10 or so tubes aren't exactly heavy so it would probably make quite a nice ride to do it anyway.

cooldad

You serious? What is too quickly? 1 second, 2 seconds?
What a waste.

BorisSpencer

3 or 4 patches and they're consigned to the 'use for something else' store.
I only ever bin tubes with slime or milk in, all the others hang off the end of the strip light until required as tie-downs, chainstay protectors, rubber bands, etc.

cee

repair and re-use.

self re-cycling.

thel33ter

Post em to me, I'll recycle them

shieldsy94

thel33ter wrote:

Post em to me, I'll recycle them

2nd that one

blister pus

yeh, i'll take some of that action

hoochylala

This reminds me, I have about 15 tubes sat in an old plastic bag! Hmm time to find some patches.......

butcher of bakersfield

chalex90 wrote:

I, like most serious riders, tend to change my inner tubes pretty much every time my back wheel even hints at going flat to quickly. Being fairly ethically minded i don't feel right just chucking them in the bin so i tend to have a stock pile of broken inner tubs until i eventually have to throw them out. Is there anywhere i can take my inner tubes to get recycled. 10 or so tubes aren't exactly heavy so it would probably make quite a nice ride to do it anyway.

Puncture repair kit??

Failing that, just send them off to a bike recycling center, or your LBS. I'm sure there's plenty of people out there that will have some use for them.

nicklouse

find a lobster/crayfish fisherman.

and do a swap.

jairaj

:?

what would a lobster/crayfish fisherman do with them?

cat_with_no_tail

sew them all together and make a gimp suit and mask

OR

use them to rubberize your entire frame

nicklouse

jairaj wrote:

:?

what would a lobster/crayfish fisherman do with them?

cut then into rings and put them on the claws.

MrChuck

Seriously, Freecycle might be an option- someone might take them just to fix them and use them.

Like you I'm reluctant to just chuck them but then I don't really know what to do with them either.

As for repairs, if I'm at home I'll fix it (my front commuter tube has 4 patches on it now) but if I'm out and about I'll replace it and the old one will likely get chucked when I get home. I just wouldn't really trust a repair if I fixed it and then just had it in my jersey pocket/Camelbak for weeks/months until it was needed.

cat_with_no_tail

nicklouse wrote:

jairaj wrote:

:?

what would a lobster/crayfish fisherman do with them?

Make little lobster gimp suits for them.

Northwind

This is a very silly thread. Don't bin when you can recycle but don't recycle when you can reuse.

MrChuck

Northwind wrote:

This is a very silly thread. Don't bin when you can recycle but don't recycle when you can reuse.

Just out of interest Northwind, what do you do with your tubes when you get a flat on the trail?

Assuming you're not running tubeless of course!

Northwind

I'm tubeless now but when I used tubes, I'd either patch it or swap for a fresh one then patch it once I got home, depending on how I felt.

cooldad

In over 40 years of riding I've never had a patch fail. I carry a spare, replace on the trail, and fix it when I get home.
Sooner or later, if the tube perishes, or splits I'll bin it. Or if there is more patch than tube.

MrChuck

Northwind wrote:

I'm tubeless now but when I used tubes, I'd either patch it or swap for a fresh one then patch it once I got home, depending on how I felt.

So you'd patch it, test it, then let it down again and carry it as a spare?
I just wouldn't trust it once I'd deflated it, unless it had proved itself in use for a while and then I'm ashamed to admit I couldn't be bothered to change them around.

Northwind

MrChuck wrote:

So you'd patch it, test it, then let it down again and carry it as a spare?

Well, I don't do much testing, just stick a wee bit of air in it and throw it up the back of the garage and see what it looks like next time I remember it's there

snotty badger

I haven'tbinned a tube in ages. I bought a 48 pack of patches of eBay. If I binned every tube I punched I'd be broke!



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Hockney

ummmm

sigorman85

This is sad lol

Daz555

chalex90 wrote:

Is there anywhere i can take my inner tubes to get recycled.

Repair and re-use. There is no reason to recycle them.

cooldad

Daz555 wrote:

chalex90 wrote:

Is there anywhere i can take my inner tubes to get recycled.

Repair and re-use. There is no reason to recycle them.

Er you do realise he posted a few years ago and hasn't been back since - may not get your message.

bluechair84

cooldad wrote:

Daz555 wrote:

chalex90 wrote:

Is there anywhere i can take my inner tubes to get recycled.

Repair and re-use. There is no reason to recycle them.

Er you do realise he posted a few years ago and hasn't been back since - may not get your message.

We're into recycling threads now?

cat_with_no_tail

Hockney wrote:

ummmm

You revived a 2yr old thread just to say that?

For what it's worth, 2yrs on, I stand by my initial gimp-mask suggestion.

and nicks suggestion for lobster gimp suits.