As much as we love our customers, we don’t want your home movies. That is, we don’t accept VHS cassette tapes for recycling.

We have noticed a recent influx of tapes at Rumpke’s recycling facilities. Unfortunately, these tapes aren’t acceptable for recycling through Rumpke's program. Cassette tapes cause extensive damage to our recycling equipment. The filmstrip gets wrapped around conveyors and locks-up the sorting mechanisms.

Alternatives for VHS Tapes

We always seek to reduce, reuse and recycle when possible. We encourage donation of VHS tapes to thrift stores, or to programs like Missouri-based Alternative Community Training (ACT), where the videos are disassembled and the parts are reused.

Why It Matters?

The implications of trying to recycle a VHS tape (or any unacceptable item) stretch beyond damage to our recycling equipment. It also means that the item takes a detour before ultimately making its way to a landfill. This leads to increased costs, unnecessary fuel use and wasted resources.

We appreciate your efforts to recycle and encourage you to recycle more from our list of acceptable items.

About the author: Jonathan Kissell is the corporate communications supervisor for Rumpke.