I think this topic was touched on a while back but its been on my mind lately.
I would like to find a way to recycle all the squeegee rubbers that we all use. From my research Ive found that vulcanized rubber cannot be just recycled into new rubber. The reason being that the quality of the product will be degraded.
With that in mind, it seems recycling the rubber into playground filler and or flooring products might be the best avenue I’ve found.
Has anyone else done any research on this? Is it even plausible.
Ive read that vulcanized rubber will take hundreds if not thousands of years to degrade in a landfill.
This could be a great project to create a new way of doing things as well as some extra exposure for our businesses
I would be interested to hear from some of the bigger companies out there about how much used rubber they throw out and
if we could create a network of rubber recycling.
I use sorbo and have a huge pile of strips, thought about the cutter SORBO sells.
Haven’t thrown out any in months … would be interested in hearing more about the future of this recycling
I am also very interested. On a similar note; I did a large re-screening job about a year ago (50+ screens). Called my city recycling office and they said that neither the old spline or the screen material could be recycled. Maybe there would be some way to get spline recycled also if it is made of the same type of rubber as squeegees.
Thanks for the replies. Im in the early stages of researching and developing this project so any input is welcomed. The plant tie idea is actually pretty good. For tying tomatoes for example, thats one way of re-using them. Im going to find a local rubber recycling shop and see what they have to say.
I would think that the cost of shipping them would be more expensive than whatever money you could get for recycling them… Doest sound like a profitable business venture to me…
We go through a lot every week, Im down for recycling them for sure… But as Trevor said it might be cost prohibitive… Rubber is actually pretty heavy to ship in bulk.
Im not thinking of this as a way to make a profit. I would like to create a more sustainable model for doing business.
What Im proposing for example would be that someone in their community work with other local window cleaners to collect used rubbers
and every month (or it could be every six months) bring them to a local rubber recycling plant.
This is just an example, but I want to get more people thinking about this and maybe we can come up with some creative solutions.
Screen can be reused in the bottoms of planters to keep the soil from clogging up the drain holes. Many people use stones, but screens cut in circles work better and are quite plentiful. Perhaps a nursery can take the screen from you.
Recycling the material could be done in different ways so there are a lot of possibilities. You could grind up the rubber into small fakes and mix it with some type of glue or flexible adhesive to create shoe soles. I’ve seen this idea used with other types of rubber. I have a pair of Bob Marley sandals and the soles are made from cork as the top sole, and woven burlap and rubber as the bottom tread. They are made of recycled material. I’ve seen shoe soles made from bits of rubber mixed with glue to create single rubber sole. Just an idea to add to the brain storming.
Been really busy cleaning windows! I have a couple local window cleaners interested here in CA. Working on playground filler, shoe soles and doormat ideas.
If anyone out there wants to get going on this in their local window cleaning market, that would be awesome!
Im trying to get folks thinking about this nationwide so we can come up with the best system for reusing or recycling squeegee rubber
We are open to the idea of recycling our squeegee rubber. Seems like a waste to just throw them away when it seems like almost everthing else is able to be recycled. Cost is definitely a factor but as technology evolves, cost should reduce. If there was a charity that all window cleaners could donate their used squeegee rubber to, and that would pass the revenue on, it could make quite a difference. Also, a catchy name like “Rubbers for Rheumatoid Arthitis” or “STFS–Squeegees To Fight Syphillis” would help with the marketing aspect.
I like your ideas Don! What Im really trying to do is get a few people who are committed to this so we can make it happen. If you can do some research in your area that would be awesome. I have another window cleaner in my area whos interested and we’re researching together to find a system to make this a reality
A couple of considerations are rubber playground mulch and bungee strap manufacturers. Here is a link to multiple recycling companies.
Window cleaning can be marketed as a very sustainable service with the choice of using responsible cleaning solutions, routing and efficiency in training for starters. It’s actually remarkable how little of water we use to clean an entire home inside and out. This compared to someone using Windex is not a debate. This being said, the amount of rubber we use collectively is off the charts and takes us out of the sustainable category. There is a possibility of looking into squeegee rubber manufacturers that purchase rubber from sources of transperency. Does the rubber come from a source in a third world country where children are bought to work on farm(Just research cocoa and you would be surprised)? What practices does the company use to reduce there footprint? Are they reforesting and using co planting to create diversity thus reducing pesticide output in the rubber plantation? Is the rubber only fair trade or best yet, Direct Trade?
Not only from responsible steward aspect, the ability to communicate with prospects our efforts to excel in caring for our environment is of great financial value. Thank you to theClearChoice for bringing this to the forefront.
In one season, I’ve filled a grocery bag full, and use as much as I can for my aluminum sill squeegee, but sometimes use them as bungee cords for my bike or skis in emergencies. They work fairly well as bungee cords. Make sure you fold the ends doubled over, glue the folded ends, then use a punch/awl (no drill) and use a small clip/s-biner etc. to clip to the other side with a small key-ring.
Ideas are starting to pop in my head. If you ever lean things against your car (skis/snowboard etc.), you can probably take 2 rubbers and glue some magnets between them like a sandwich and use them to lean your gear against your car without scuffing the paint.
Rubber gaskets for whatever purpose? (drafty double hung?)
Hanging flower pots that bounce around in the wind?
Maybe use rubber cement to glue a layer to your dashboard so you can set something on a non-slip surface?
Steering wheel wrap for a beater work truck?
Tent pole bungee.
Small animal trap component.
I’m sure I can think of more… Oh! use your 20" to whip your nearest friend on the hind-side with ELASTIC POWER!
