Recycle old rope.

[Mr Don]

In these environmentally conscious days. What should re do with old tired rope?

How do we recycle it?

All of the materials used in our ropes can be recycled. (Steel, stainless steel, nylon, polypropylene , polyester, polyethylene terephthalate, natural fibre and now even dyneema).

What are people doing with it?
Where can I send or take it to be recycled or repurposed?
I do not want to make a pile and burn it, releasing toxic substances into the air as I have seen others doing. It seems such a waste to just bin it to the landfill.

 

[rotrax]

A lot of old rope gets recycled endlessly by a few who post regularly in Current Affairs.......................................

You know who you are!

 

[Gary Fox]

Endless fun and a useful craft:

 

[Sandy]

Take a look at the Jimmy Green website there are some directions there.

 

[LadyInBed]

I always check the boatyard skips for useable lengths of rope, especially at the start / end of season.
Always good for dinghy painters, halyard mousing lines, mooring jackstays etc.

 

[prv]

What are people doing with it?

Stuffing it into two increasingly overfull tubs in my shed

I haven't heard of any polyester rope recycling effort. Most polyester recycling seems to be specifically for bottles.

Pete

 

[thinwater]

You cannot recycle old rope into something like new rope, where the strength properties matter. The polymer has been damamged by UV and that is that. I have woven a few mats, and there are many low-value uses for rope around the house and comunitee. Put it out for "free" and it will disapear.

Marlow does make recycled polyester docklines, and they are good. I have strength tested them and am using them. But they are made from recycled drink bottles (also polyester).

 

[TernVI]

Better to re-use it.
Not sure it has any recycling value when it's been out in the sun for ten years.

 

[Pete7]

Better to re-use it.
Not sure it has any recycling value when it's been out in the sun for ten years.

Au contraire, send it to Carly who does some great things with it:

 

[lustyd]

You could send them to Carly from CaDoHa. She makes some pretty cool dog leads with old rope
Cadoha Shop | Mysite

Edit: haha just pipped at the post by Pete!

 

[johnalison]

Stick it in my garage. That is where 2/3 of the world's supply of used rope hangs out.

 

[TernVI]

You could send them to Carly from CaDoHa. She makes some pretty cool dog leads with old rope
Cadoha Shop | Mysite

Edit: haha just pipped at the post by Pete!

I call that re-use, it's not really 'recycling'.

 

[lustyd]

Indeed, reduce, re-use, recycle. It's easy to forget that recycling should always be a last resort rather than first

 

[Neeves]

Some people think the idea of using a retired climbing rope as a snubber is something to mock and laugh about, repeatedly

Retired climbing rope, or the ones I know of, can be from 15m to 30m long. There can be some wear at one end, it becomes 'furry' and if you cut that off you might lose 2m. Basically ropes from climbing gyms comes in one size 12/13mm. Climbing rope itself comes commonly as 8mm, 10mm and 12/13mm - but gyms (in Oz) only use 12/13mm. Outdoor climbing centres, etc might use different sizes and have the same retirement regimes - I don't know. Rope is retired against a controlled time schedule or if the rope is subject to one single 'major' fall (though if the belayer has not fallen asleep I cannot work out how they ever have a major fall).

Other uses would be mooring lines.

Once retired it cannot be used for height safety, or anything similar. It cannot be sold, I suspect because selling implies some form of guarantee or warranty. Most of it goes to land fill. I suggest making a minor contribution to the tea/coffee fund or the Xmas party (I make the offer - it has consistently been refused).

Re-birthing a climbing rope into a snubber, and later a mooring line seems to offer a creditable retirement route for nylon rope.

For those that don't know climbing rope it is, currently, impossible to splice and not easy to knot, neatly. If you want a challenge - find a way to splice it (and post on YBW).

Sewing an eye at one end is common practice.

Snubbers should aways be used with a back up (another short snubber) to protect your windlass. Snubbers are like humans - they have a finite (and unpredictable) lifespan.

Jonathan

 

[thinwater]

Indeed, reduce, re-use, recycle. It's easy to forget that recycling should always be a last resort rather than first

Precisely. If you can reuse until there is nothing left worth recycling, that is better yet.

This goes hand in hand with the proverb "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

 

[thinwater]

Some people think the idea of using a retired climbing rope as a snubber is something to mock and laugh about, repeatedly

Retired climbing rope, or the ones I know of, can be from 15m to 30m long. There can be some wear at one end, it becomes 'furry' and if you cut that off you might lose 2m. Basically ropes from climbing gyms comes in one size 12/13mm. Climbing rope itself comes commonly as 8mm, 10mm and 12/13mm - but gyms (in Oz) only use 12/13mm. Outdoor climbing centres, etc might use different sizes and have the same retirement regimes - I don't know. Rope is retired against a controlled time schedule or if the rope is subject to one single 'major' fall (though if the belayer has not fallen asleep I cannot work out how they ever have a major fall).

Other uses would be mooring lines.

Once retired it cannot be used for height safety, or anything similar. It cannot be sold, I suspect because selling implies some form of guarantee or warranty. Most of it goes to land fill. I suggest making a minor contribution to the tea/coffee fund or the Xmas party (I make the offer - it has consistently been refused).

Re-birthing a climbing rope into a snubber, and later a mooring line seems to offer a creditable retirement route for nylon rope.

For those that don't know climbing rope it is, currently, impossible to splice and not easy to knot, neatly. If you want a challenge - find a way to splice it (and post on YBW).

Sewing an eye at one end is common practice.

Snubbers should aways be used with a back up (another short snubber) to protect your windlass. Snubbers are like humans - they have a finite (and unpredictable) lifespan.

Jonathan

My climbing ropes are always repurposed as something else. I'm not sayin' ropes go through this progression. Many skip steps.

• Lead rope, adventure climbing
• Lead rope, local sport climbing
• Top roping
• Top rope shorter crags (after the ends have been trimmed short)
• Traveler line (much lower shock during jibes, not enough stretch to notice)
• Snubbers
• Tree work (dropping smaller limbs)

Few make it this far...

• Docklines
• Tying stuff on trailers and roof racks

And if that was not the death of them, with nothing left worth recycling...

• Tying up rubish and all other uses that only discount store rope would be used for.

---

I also tested, very successfully using a retired lead rope, a use you would not think of for nylon rope:

• Solo MOB boat stopping system. A trailed floating line (75 feet) is used to pull a sea anchor from its bag and into the water. After 150 feet of line deploys, the boat is gently braked to a near stop, and you can easily hand-over-hand your way to the boat. We tested under sail and at full throttle. Obviously, engineering depends on the boat size. No reason you could not also trip the autopilot and/or pull the helm over; probably vital on larger boats, with the chute providing back-up braking.

 

[ianat182]

I f the rope is about1.5 to 2" diameter it can be used for a dinghy all-round gunwhale fender on a wooden or GRP dinghy.
One lay of the rope is used to tether to the dinghy at say12"centres using seizing wire or nylon webbing .If small slots made for it; ends melted/fused together makes a neat looking job. Wire , or strong braided cord, knotted ,also can work.

ianat182

 

[Porthandbuoy]

One of my daughters recycles climbing rope: Summit Else

 

[thinwater]

One of my daughters recycles climbing rope: Summit Else

That brings up an interesting point. She is using only the cover to make webbing.

The cover-only of double braid splices like hollow braid (Amsteel) and sews like webbing. Often portions of halyards that were in the mast are like new.

• Chafe covers.
• Enlarging Dyneema tails so they fit jammers and winches.
• Covering bungee cord. Put the bungee in the center and sew eyes on the ends. Super durable bungee.
• Sail ties.

The cover is almost handier than old line., since you can use short lengths.

The core portion is generally worthless once removed, though it you should leave it in place until you need the cover, because it is VERY handy for pulling the cover over Dyneema core. Could be used to bulk-up Dyneema tails.

 

[Mr Don]

Take a look at the Jimmy Green website there are some directions there.

Thank you that is useful.
Perhaps I can pusuade our local harbours to participate.
It is dreadful to see old rope just left or burnt. It is wastful to dump in landfill.