7 Mind-Blowing Ways to Recycle Old Cassette Tapes | 3BL Media

Find out how an old school cassette tape can turn into a newly recycled piece of art!

I remember back in the day when listening to cassette tapes and recording music on them was the best way to pass time. I even remember when you could buy a cassette single of 80’s hip hop or 90’s grunge rock music for about $1.99. Tapes were not as cool as vinyl records, but they were a definite close second. Sadly, the cassette tape days are over thanks to iTunes and mp3s. Now the only cassette tapes I see sit on the dusty shelves of thrift stores, in the bargain box of independent record shops and in my mother’s car.

Even though we may not be able to listen to cassette tapes anymore, we can at least reuse them in very creative ways. Here are seven cool recycled cassette tape items that prove there is still some longevity in the life of the compact cassette:

1. Cassette Tape Lamp
This lamp featured on ooo my design is made from old cassette tapes that have been tied together.

2. Sonic Fabric
This is fabric that is woven from 50% recorded audio cassette tape and 50% colored thread the fabric. And yes, it’s actually audible!

Check out this amazing video!

3. Cassette Wallets
Designboom features these very cool wallets that are handmade from recycled cassette tapes.

4. Music of Delhi Recycled Cosmetic Case
These cosmetic cases made from 100% recycled cotton and cassette tape are handmade in a school in India. The school teaches vocational skills to children with disabilities, and prepares the students to become employed. Featured on the Animal Rescue Site.

5. Cassette Tape Portraits
Artist Erika Iris Simmons creates these beautiful portraits with discarded cassette tapes! Here’s the musical genius Bob Marley. You can also check out Erika’s entire Flickr photostream.

6. Cassette Tape Closet
Designer Patrick Schuur created this “cassette tape closet” by using 918 cassette tapes that were individually screwed into a wooden frame.

7. Melted Cassette Skeleton Artistry
Atlanta artist Brian Dettmer made these life-like skeletons out of unwanted melted cassette tapes. His work was even featured at Chicago’s International Museum of Surgical Science.

It’s truly mind-blowing to see how used cassette tapes can be recycled into awesome pieces of art, and I hope that the artists continue to keep the memory of good music alive!

Greenopolis.com is dedicated to our users. We focus our attention on changing the world through recycling, waste-to-energy and conservation. We reward our users for their sustainable behaviors on our website, through our Greenopolis Tracking Stations and with curbside recycling programs.

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Wrapping Up a 12-Session Blog Post Journey | 3BL Media

Take home message: Start where you care.

Hi Folks. Meredith here. This post marks the last of a 12-session series describing my 2008-2009 Trash Tour.  After documenting thousands of garbage cans, interviewing countless waste generators (e.g. humans), and looking at wide ranges of “waste solutions,” everyone asks me, “Well? What did you learn?”

I learned that there is no one “magic bullet” that will deliver us to a “sustainable society.” I learned that the recycling rate of the Guatemala City dump is comparable to the recycling rate in Belgium. I learned that I like mango on a stick.

Why do I prefer mango on a stick compared to mango in a plastic cup? I care because the stick and seed are compostable, whereas the cup, is not. This choice is admittedly trivial. But I care about minimizing my packaging, and I have a deeply rooted (heh) passion for composting. 

Three choices in life make the most difference in determining a “sustainable” path:
1) How you live (Efficient dwelling? Small space? Large space? Near work?);
2) How you get around (Bike? Walk? Private jet?); and
3) How you eat (Local? Organic? Seasonal? Etc.)

My life does not have these three things—I call them “choice zones”—dialed. Yet. This fact became clear last summer: my partner and I decided to forego vehicular transport and bike 50 miles to a wedding on the flanks of Mt. St. Helens. We woke early, pedaled north, and arrived in time to catch a quick shower and snack before the service. The next day, legs sore from dancing, we pedaled home. On the way, we got hungry, so we stopped at a fast food restaurant. 

I am sure the food we ate was neither local nor organic, but it sure tasted real nice. I remember thinking, “Next time, if we pack a picnic from the garden, we’ll hit all three choices zones!” But I don’t really care about food. At least I don’t care about food as much as I care about fitness, reducing our dependency on gas, and enjoying a beautiful summer weekend. So that’s where I started that journey: on a bike.

I firmly believe that we are all somewhere on this path of sustainability. Some folks realize it more than others. But the least common denominator in all of us—whether a waste picker in a developing dump, a homeowner in Belgium, or a bike commuter in Portland, OR—the least common denominator is that we start where we care. 

It’s been fun sharing bits of my journey with you. Till next time, take care,
Meredith

Greenopolis.com is dedicated to our users. We focus our attention on changing the world through recycling, waste-to-energy and conservation. We reward our users for their sustainable behaviors on our website, through our Greenopolis Tracking Stations and with curbside recycling programs.

GREENOP4335

Citizens Unite! | 3BL Media

Money Talks 

Did you hear the one about big money saving democracy? Well, apparently the Supreme Court did. A small majority of 5 versus 4 judges on our nation’s highest court unequivocally believe that protecting the interests of big business lobbyists serves the country’s core values, the cherished First Amendment right of Free Speech.
 
Sadly, the Supreme Court ruled last week that “the government has no business regulating political speech” even by non-human corporations. The ruling gives corporations powers that only individuals had previously – in effect creating a dual citizenry.
 
Read more
 
Have I Got a Deal For You
 
What kind of legitimate business would want to block a ban on “unfair, deceptive and abusive” credit practices?
 
Apparently a group of businesses under the guise of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are doing just that-lobbying to eliminate the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
 
After the marketing of lethally dangerous super-subprime mortgages to people who could not only not afford them, but had no idea they would lose everything, the Big O and Congress decided they have to do something. Monitoring all consumer products from credit cards to mortgages and home equity loans would ensure that ordinary non-MBA hard-working citizens would not be scammed and fleeced on the scale they were in the past decade.
 
Read more 

Click for GoodB Blog – provocative and informative.
 
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