# Are spent guitar strings recyclable?



## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

It's one of those woke things.


----------



## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

They sure are, you can make a rabbit snare or a garotte if that is more your style. Or you could take them to any metal recyclers, or throw them in the metal bin at the landfill. They would go somewhere. I find any metal is recyclable to some extent... if not at least you can pretend you were helping to make the world a better place.


----------



## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

No idea, but I put mine in the blue box.


----------



## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

If it’s metal….somebody wants it.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I've seen examples of jewellery made with old wound strings. Can't say that it's pretty, but then I'm not much for jewellery of any kind.


----------



## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

Guitar string art


----------



## Verne (Dec 29, 2018)

Paul Running said:


> Guitar string art
> View attachment 399214


That is pretty close to how all mine look once they are nicely pushed down into the garbage pail. Never thought to throw them in with the tin cans and plastics though. No more art for my room.


----------



## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

There was a group sending used strings to third world countries, but that has stopped.

I’m sure they are recyclable, but each string would be worth fractions of a penny.

They are useful in the garden.

D’Addario will take 2 pounds of strings. Is that a lifetime of strings?





Recycle My Strings | D'Addario String Recycling Program


D’Addario’s Playback is an industry-wide string recycling program—powered by TerraCycle. Through Playback, musicians can send in used guitar and orchestral strings for recycling. This program is currently open to residents living in the continental US.



www.daddario.com


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Doug Gifford said:


> It's one of those woke things.


as in “recent”? Because d’addario has been toting their recyclable packaging for the 22 years I’ve been buying strings.


----------



## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

Budda said:


> as in “recent”? Because d’addario has been toting their recyclable packaging for the 22 years I’ve been buying strings.


The packaging I recycle already.


----------



## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

I’m really curious, does anyone know how much a guitar string weighs?

So far I’ve found 40 inches of .011 wire should weigh 0.001 pounds. How much does the ball-end weigh?


----------



## jayoldschool (Sep 12, 2013)

I used some to cut a windshield out of a Cadillac one time.


----------



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Some go to the steel recycling bin at the dump. 
Some go to a potter/artist for who knows what.
But a friend made me these flowers using strings as stems when my appendix tried to kill me,
I like them the best.


----------



## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

mhammer said:


> I've seen examples of jewellery made with old wound strings. Can't say that it's pretty, but then I'm not much for jewellery of any kind.


I have made some pretty cool pieces of jewelry with some old and beloved strings. I don’t throw them out I just have them stored in a cylinder for future projects. I have tons of them. Over the course of 11 years not one string has gone to the curb.


----------



## Permanent Waves (Jun 2, 2020)

Steve's Music in Ottawa used to have a "used string box" to send back for recycling. Not sure what they did with them, whether it was new strings or something else.


----------



## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

Hey we could make the biggest ball of wire out of used guitar strings if we combined all our guitar strings together and maybe even get a nod in the Guinness record book! Lol


----------



## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Lola said:


> Hey we could make the biggest ball of wire out of used guitar strings if we combined all our guitar strings together and maybe even get a nod in the Guinness record book! Lol


I am 110% on board for this! Just tell me we are shipping them to your house!


----------



## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

mhammer said:


> I've seen examples of jewellery made with old wound strings. Can't say that it's pretty, but then I'm not much for jewellery of any kind.


Trevor Finley's girlfriend makes and sells guitar string jewlery if I remember correctly.


----------



## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

Brunz said:


> I am 110% on board for this! Just tell me we are shipping them to your house!


So who nominated me? Lol


----------



## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Lola said:


> So who nominated me? Lol


Well I would like to, and credit being your idea and all.....


----------



## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

Seriously?


----------



## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

Basket weaving with guitar strings:


----------



## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

I have to throw old strings out in a covered garbage can because one of my cats gets a little too interested in them, because apparently they taste great, or something.


----------



## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

Hammerhands said:


> I’m really curious, does anyone know how much a guitar string weighs?
> 
> So far I’ve found 40 inches of .011 wire should weigh 0.001 pounds. How much does the ball-end weigh?


I weighed the strings from a set of D’Addario EXL116 [11-52] on a not particularly accurate scale and the 6 strings are about 20g, which is about 0.7 ounces. 50 sets of strings would be about 1kg. 47 sets of strings would be about 2lbs.


----------



## Whammer Jammer (Sep 7, 2019)

Just sell them on Kijiji:
















Kijiji - Buy, Sell & Save with Canada's #1 Local Classifieds


Visit Kijiji Classifieds to buy, sell, or trade almost anything! New and used items, cars, real estate, jobs, services, vacation rentals and more virtually anywhere.




www.kijiji.ca


----------



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I know someone who used to collect metal that was otherwise tossed into the garbage & he took it in & gave what he got to a charity
I started collecting my old strings, especially bass strings--so he could add it in--(wouldn't get me much)
But he doesn't do that anymore for a variety of reasons--so I have some old strings hanging around.


----------



## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

Hammerhands said:


> They are useful in the garden.


What for ?


----------



## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

BGood said:


> What for ?


Tying plants to sticks, I guess.


----------



## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

make something useless with them?


----------



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Many years back there was a guy who collected used strings, cleaned them up, gauged them into packages and used them as gifts (or maybe trade I'm not certain) for the music community in Cuba where it had been difficult to acquire strings because of the embargo. We take the availability of strings for granted here but I guess it isn't so everywhere.


----------



## MetalTele79 (Jul 20, 2020)

I just took a look at the Waste Wizard app (garbage/recycling app for Toronto) and there's no specific entry from guitar strings but wire is listed as going in the garbage.


----------



## TubeStack (Jul 16, 2009)

I put mine out in the recycling bin and they’ve always taken them. Not sure beyond that.


----------



## FatStrat2 (Apr 7, 2021)

Some good ideas here, but I wouldn't want anything to be made out of these things unless I know there's an absolute guarantee that they were cleaned & sterilized (preferably boiled for a while).

I use the clipped ends of new strings for mini-files and the like. Shorter ones are good for grabbing objects or as a setting tool for certain things in the workshop. My brother used to use them quite a bit for his shipbuilding and model making hobby years back. He also used the high E and B strings to repair electronic gear and even patch circuits.


----------



## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

FatStrat2 said:


> He also used the high E and B strings to repair electronic gear and even patch circuits.


The volume pot on my Northern is connected with the E string I took off of it when I was rewiring it because I did not have anything else at the time and here I thought I was the only one


----------



## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

When I was pouring lead into Bic lighters to make slides the melting pot would often get plugged and I'd use old strings to ream it out.


----------



## PTO (12 mo ago)

If you do your own picture framing you can use strings for hanging wire.


----------

