Trimmed string disposal.

equalsql

After restringing your guitar, how do you dispose of the sharp strings ends that you have cut off?

Being as they are like musical hypodermic needles, do you just chuck them in the bin and not worry that they might hurt someone or something later on or do you have a clever and safe method for disposal?

Corvus

Give 'em to the cats to play with.

Not really - bend 'em with the same needle-nose pliers I use to double-over the ends on the guitar. So they drop into a string packet without wanting to bounce free.

mike_l

Metal skip at work. Same with old strings.

not_the_dj

Hmmm, I just chuck 'em in the bin  >:)

equalsql

not_the_dj said:

Hmmm, I just chuck 'em in the bin  >:)

You bad man..wot about all them poor little animals that frequent the dumps...shame on you 
[-X

richardhomer

Corvus;263854" said:

bend 'em with the same needle-nose pliers I use to double-over the ends on the guitar. So they drop into a string packet without wanting to bounce free.

This is exactly what I do.

Does this make us responsible citizens or sufferers from OCD?

stickyfiddle

I coil them up into circles like new strings come in, then put all those in the string packet to go in the bin.

mike_l

equalsql said:

not_the_dj said:

Hmmm, I just chuck 'em in the bin  >:)

You bad man..wot about all them poor little animals that frequent the dumps...shame on you 
[-X

Gypo's?

 

 

>:)

steamabacus

I never cut the ends off my strings - I coil the unused portion into a loop like this...

ICBM

I put all the scrap metal I generate from work, as well as domestic scrap (cans, beer bottle tops etc) in a large box and take it to the council dump where there is a metal recycling skip about every couple of months.

Phil_aka_Pip

I make little coils of the offcuts, slightly larger coils of the old strings, and drop 'em in the next baked beans tin that goes for recycling. A lady at the council recycling advice dept told me it was the right thing to do

Fazer

i put the old strings and cut off bits into an empty food tin, then that goes into metal recycling thingy

Corvus

richardhomer said:

Does this make us responsible citizens or sufferers from OCD?

I'm not sure... possibly responsible OCD-ers...
Probably started for me as defence against ear pain from the other half finding a stray on the carpet with bare feet.

jd0272

Into me glass/metal/cardboard recycling bin.

xSkarloey

Coil em up and put em in a plastic bag, ready to be recycled with all the rest of the strings when they're finished. 

I have been known to send old strings to a Cuban Aid project. 

But generally I recycle them these days at the local dump. Paper packaging goes in the normal household recycling.  

Octahedron

Most of them are probably inside me somewhere... God forbid if I ever walk past a scrap yard/wreckers with one of those big electromagnet things :P 

Nah. I just chuck 'em in the bin, total disregard for OH&S  

imalone

I've never been sure our local recycling collection can deal with strings, they tend to insist on cans only for metal. Not sure how long it would take me to accumulate enough that a visit to our council dump would be net beneficial. (I've never had any other reason to be near it.)

drwiddly

I just bung 'em in the recycling with cans, etc. They're metal, bloody well recycle them you lazy b*ggers! I reckon all the guys on here would dispose of enough to make a couple of cars every year :-)

littlethoughts

Interesting replies everyone! I wonder if some of the more weird and wonderful string types should be recycled though, or if they just end up getting binned at the other end...or worse, what if all you lovely people conscientiously putting your strings into tin cans are buggering up the reprocessing by mixing metals i.e. nickel wound strings contaminating aluminium cans.

randomhandclaps

I stuff pillows with them and sell them at BDSM coffee mornings.

imalone

littlethoughts said:

Interesting replies everyone! I wonder if some of the more weird and wonderful string types should be recycled though, or if they just end up getting binned at the other end...or worse, what if all you lovely people conscientiously putting your strings into tin cans are buggering up the reprocessing by mixing metals i.e. nickel wound strings contaminating aluminium cans.

That's what I'm not sure about. Always thought the prohibition on shredded paper in recycling was weird, but apparently it messes up their sorting process. Strings are at least magnetic and mainly steel, so the iron-aluminium sorting should get them out.