You probably 
have asked yourself at one time or another, "What the heck should I do with my old VHS tapes as I switch over to DVD? Did you know:
- It takes one-sixth of a gallon of petroleum to produce a single half-inch VHS tape (almost a gallon to produce one television and broadcast-standard tape.)
- VHS tape shells are made from engineered resin that can’t be "reused."
This Sunday’s LA Times Staff Writer Casey Dolan, profiled the extreme world of the dinosaur VHS, including what’s currently happening to the millions of orphaned tapes.
As a Professional Organizer, our Southern California residential AND business clients ask tape recycling questions all the time. And we’d like to think we’re the experts to provide options — the resources we suggest include:
- make a charitable donation (to a thrift store);
- recycle;
- schedule a visit with 1-800-GOT-JUNK (our version of College Hunks Hauling Junk);
- As a last resort, the tapes can get tossed into the trash for our friends at the LA Department of Public Works to handle.
But what if you don’t have a Professional Organizer in your backyard to get this information and to make an informed decision about recycling? Casey Dolan’s article includes advise from these "video recyclers:"
- GreenDisk in Sammamish, Washington;
- MSE Media Solutions in LA;
- Tropical Media in Burbank;
- Keith Austin Enterprises (World Video Group) in Santa Barbara.
Check out the Times article "Tape May Be Trite But It’s Not All Trash" and you’ll get valuable tips on the video tape recycling lifeline. You’ll need to be a member of the LA Times to read the full article, which is free and very easy to sign up.
Editor John Trosko’s note– In researching this article we found a few interesting pieces on the ‘net– including a 1995 LA Times article on Keith Austin’s company, and the (then) new business. Peruse the vintage piece here, but first read the funny excerpt I found:
"Andy Carpel (of Carpel Video, a video recycler in Frederick, MD) enjoys telling a story about his daughter, Jessica, who was approached by another girl one day at school:
"The kid said, ‘My daddy’s a TV reporter. He makes television shows. What does your daddy do?’
"And Jessica said to her, ‘My daddy erases them.’ "
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