Forum: bicycles.stackexchange.com
Tags: <innertube><puncture>
Title: Is there a recycling program that accepts unrepairable inner tubes?
Question: The local bike shop, not the wealthiest operation, has a pile of dead inner tubes growing on the floor. I'd love to discover something where used inner tubes are repurposed, melted down, made into something else. Similar to how e-waste is harvested and repurposed.  We have need for only so many rubber bands and so many bungees.

Answers:
sents: text: http://alchemygoods.com/
text: They recycle inner tubes into usable products, and will give you credit towards their products for recycling.
answer_details: author: bicycles.stackexchange.com/users/1259/zenbike
score: 13
sents: text: How about recycling them yourself?
text: Here are some ideas posted on the brilliant BikeHacks website.
text: Shoelaces, wallet, yarn, handlebar tape, top tube passenger seat, dog lead, Maglite handlebar attachment, rack, key chain bling, bike bell, repaired bike seat...
answer_details: author: bicycles.stackexchange.com/users/1593/Hugo
score: 11
sents: text: MEC in Canada accept dead inner tubes and tires, so i'm guessing REI in the states also will
answer_details: author: bicycles.stackexchange.com/users/427/mgb
score: 8
sents: text: Somewhat off topic
text: but when I was 13 (or something like that)
text: I went to a scout summer camp.
text: A bike shop had given the camp a big pile of used tubes.
text: It was Awesome.
text: We made tonnes of stuff with them that summer including giant sling shots between two trees.
text: I am not sure
text: but maybe an ad on kijiji or craigslist could find a home for these.
answer_details: author: bicycles.stackexchange.com/users/134/sixtyfootersdude
score: 8
sents: text: See http://www.ibike.org/environment/recycling/ for organizations that ship bikes to 3rd world countries.
text: I am a member of the Village Bicycle Project in Seattle WA we collect bikes and parts including usable tires and inner tubes.
text: Inner tubes with no worse than a simple puncture are accepted.
text: We do not encourage making usable inner tubes into designer handbags.
answer_details: author: bicycles.stackexchange.com/users/29163/Frank Kroger
score: 3
sents: text: I've seen a number of local bike shops that were running programs to recycle old tires and tubes.
text: They never seem to keep running for a long time though, so it strikes me that there's some sort of problem with those, otherwise they'd keep going.
text: I suppose it's worth asking your LBS?
answer_details: author: bicycles.stackexchange.com/users/563/zigdon
score: 2
sents: text: Green Guru ( greengurugear.com ) takes tubes.
text: If the store also sell the green guru gear they get a discount off the wholesale price and the will alternately pay for the shipping.
text: They have a pretty good price point too.
text: They will pick up anywhere in Colorado and have quite a few places to drop tubes in California and also in Minneapolis and near Charlotte, NC.
text: I think they are in REI and MEC now.
answer_details: author: bicycles.stackexchange.com/users/3560/Phill
score: 2
sents: text: I have a way to repurpose them, but recycling is a hard thing to come by.
text: Right now its just a local project called Bicycle Re-Cycle, in Austin, TX but open for ideas and poeple willing to help make a difference.
text: check out http://bicycle-recycle.com/
answer_details: author: bicycles.stackexchange.com/users/5874/user5874
score: 2

Summary of the answers:
MEC in Canada accept dead inner tubes and tires, so probably REI in the states also will. The website  http://www.ibike.org/environment/recycling/  lists organizations that ship bikes to 3rd world countries. Green Guru ( greengurugear.com ) takes tubes. Moreover, there are a number of local bike shops running programs to recycle old tires and tubes. Finally, you could recycle them yourself.
You could try recycling used parts yourself or address certain recycling companies, like MEC, might accept unrepairable inner tubes. Another solution would be to look for non-profit organizations that may need parts. Finally, some companies, like Green Guru, or local bike shops may accept tubes for recycling purposes.