helmet - trash or recyclable?

[trinena]

I'm assuming my nicely cracked helmet should go into the trash and the materials are not recyclable. If anyone knows differently let me know!

[Irulan]

Some manufacturers will issue a credit coupon towards a new one if you send it back to them. Otherwise, into the trash....

[CycleTherapy]

How about making a planter out of it.

[OakLeaf]

If there is a local EPS recycling facility, then I'd say yes. Very few recycling centers will take EPS, because it's so bulky and light that generally the net petroleum savings from recycling it is outweighed by the petroleum used in transportation.

Where we live in Florida, we're lucky to have an EPS recycling facility close by. I tore the straps and outer shell off DH's last dead helmet (took a few minutes, but wasn't too hard) and chucked the shell in the recycling bin. Straps may be reusable if you like to make that kind of stuff. I plan to do the same when I replace mine this year.

[trinena]

good to know about the coupon but i wasn't happy with the straps/fit of my specialized helmet so i don't want the same one. i'll be getting a nicer helmet (the same one my husband has) from rudy project at a great price and it's red to match my road bike.

as for the planter - a funny idea! could be symbolic (something good growing out of something bad!) but i don't think i want to have a reminder of my crash from Sunday. i didn't think i had a concussion (i've had one before) but I'm still having headaches.

[OakLeaf]

Another idea - if your LBS doesn't have a demo helmet ("this crack could've been in her skull"), give it to them. My LBS used my old dead helmet to sell helmets for 15 years "She's still alive. Not quite right, but she wasn't quite right before the accident, either"


PS way glad you're ok!!!!

[7rider]

How about making a planter out of it.

This picture is probably too small to see (gads! I wish I had gotten a better picture of it), but....
Forgive the lead-in here...but, just before Bike To Work Day (May, '08), we had a seminar at our fitness center on the benefits of bicycling, and biking to work. A nurse practitioner from our health center was a keynote speaker. As part of her presentation, she spoke about the benefits of wearing a helmet. As an example, she pulled out her helmet and proudly exclaimed that helmets need not be fancy or expensive to be effective, and in fact, here was her's....all of 15 year old!!! I quietly pulled her aside and reminded her that generally, a helmet, being not much more then glorified stryofoam, looses it's ability to absorb an impact over time and should be replace regularly....something like every 5 years.

So...come BTWD, we have our morning coffee and bagels for commuters, and in walks the NP with her old helmet on a shallow bowl...serving as the foundation for a lovely flower arrangement!! Titled: Things to Do With Your Old Helmet! It was GREAT!!

[trinena]

love the story & pic 7rider. good thing you were there to let her know about a helmet's lifespan!

[smilingcat]

thank you for the reminder. I bought my helmet about 7 years ago. So after reading this thread, I went out and bought a new helmet. brought it home and checked the mfg date of my old helmet. 1999 I thought I bought it after my last major crash around 2001-2002 timeframe.

So I just checked the mfg'd date of the new helmet I just bought. Its July 2007.

I'm thinking of returning the helmet for a refund. If it only has 5 year lifespan then its already used up 20% of its lifetime. grrr... and helmets are expensive!! And I'm not really liking the helmet anyway. No pony tail port for my hair...

smilingcat