Where to Donate VHS Tapes

by - Thursday, March 01, 2018

where to donate vhs tapes
from Imarcade
Oh old VHS tapes. Poor youths of today will never know the joys of the big Disney movie box or the horrors of putting a tape in that needs rewound. Poor souls.

Ever wonder what happened to all of those tapes? Ever wonder what to do with all of your tapes?

I just found a big collection of our childhood VHS tapes in my brother's closet at my dad's house while we were cleaning. I will be honest with you- it definitely sent a pang to my heart, and when my dad said keep, I felt kind of relieved. I mean, who can really use them anyway?

On the other hand, we certainly won't watch them and they occupy a bunch of space in at least two areas of his house. I am thinking we could probably pick a few that especially speak to our heart and send the rest off to greener pastures.

The issue is, I don't want these big hunks of sentimental, Disney-branded plastic actually screwing up a green pasture.

 I mean, there have to be a lot of these VHS tapes in the world, and Wall-E only needs one copy of Hello Dolly.  VHS tapes turn out to be a big pain to recycle and not all that useful for re-use. It is a big challenge, which is probably part of why they are essentially worthless now.

So, believe it or not, here are some options for where to take those VHS tapes so they aren't doing any harm (they might even do some good)-

Nursing Homes and Other Care Facilities- Some of these places still use VHS tapes instead of DVDs. Hard to believe, but it is true, so the best first step might be to call mental hospitals or nursing homes in your neighborhood and ask about VHS tapes (you might ask what else they need donated too. People aren't always looking out for these places). You can do some good for people right where you live and buy a little more use time for those tapes.

Freecycle or Buy Nothing- It seems crazy that anyone would want old VHS tapes. but maybe one of your neighbors does. Throwing your collection on to see if anyone still watches these tapes makes a lot of sense, and you may just be surprised (I would be anyway).

Etsy Sellers- Did you know, there are a bunch of sellers on Etsy who make VHS tapes turned into lamps? No really, that is a thing. I wrote them all (no, really. I did). Most of them, shockingly enough, have their own pile of VHS tapes to contend with, but Smart Lamb shop could use them if you want to mail them to Brazil (I know, I know, but I am trying here). If nothing else, check the store out and maybe you will feel inspired to make lamps like these for Christmas gifts! Cute and sentimental. You can check here for more recycled VHS ideas and sellers. Look for something near you and write to ask if they need more VHS tapes for materials.

Check Earth911- Oh, I love earth911.com, which is fighting the good fight daily to keep your junk out of landfills. Check out their site to find out if there is anywhere to recycle VHS tapes near you.

 Back Thru the Future- This company is based out of New Jersey and serves most everything North of DC. It specializes in media shredding and recycling all the materials in an office. If you live between DC and Maine and don't need Aristocats on VHS, give your collection to them for safe and responsible disposal.

AMVAC- This St Louis organization- American Military Veterans Assistance Corporation- employs veterans to run its vast recycling program, including electronics and media like tapes. Help give military veterans jobs and keep your electronics out of a landfill? Sounds like a pretty amazing thing to me.

Green Disk- Green Disk will recycle all sorts of media waste- DVDs, CDs, discs, and even VHS tapes. Great place to send what you have if you have a bunch of different types of media you need to recycle.

where to donate vhs tapes
Ok, this one was trickier, but it is still doable! And even though I totally get why we keep them, it is time to pick a symbolic few and send the rest of those VHS tapes packing. Because that is just clutter.



The Great Donate 2018 is on! Can you donate, gift, or recycle 2,018 items out of your house this year? The average American household has 300,000 items in it- who needs that much? No one, but there are lots of people who could use what you have sitting collecting dust.

Check out the Great Donate main page for more suggestions on what to donate and where. You will save money (by knowing what you actually have), free up space, and save so much from going into a landfill.

Want to make your home greener? No matter the size or location, you can limit your waste and make your house have a more positive impact on the environment. Check out the Green Home Page for thousands of ideas on how to do it.

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4 comments

  1. This is a great post! I know that when I still had my VHS tapes, I had to figure out where to donate mine. I'm really glad you wrote a post about this. I think a lot of people may not be aware of places that will take them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Do you pick up VHS Tapes? How do I schedule an appointment? Are you in Los Angeles?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have 100s VHS tapes. I'm in southern VA. Where can I donate?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have a few To good to bin off anyone is interested Children’s Films tidy boxes if interested I live in South Wales A little one or older one would love these my grandchildren did VHS tapes

    ReplyDelete

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