Collection Corner

Instrumental program

You might not be Jimi Hendrix; but, if you play guitar, you most likely have broken strings and replaced old ones with new. In an industrywide first, musical instrument string-making company D’Addario has partnered with international recycling and upcycling company TerraCycle, Trenton, New Jersey, to create a free recycling program for instrument strings and clippings.

Through Playback, musicians can recycle metal instrument strings from any manufacturer. Once collected, the metal and nylon strings are separated by type, and the metal is melted down and smelted into new metal alloys. The nylon is recycled into industrial plastic applications.

Participants can earn rewards, which can be redeemed for new sets of strings, picks, gear and other accessories. Reward points also can be used to pay it forward through D’Addario’s nonprofit, D’Addario Foundation, to help fund music programs in underserved communities.

The recycling program is currently only available in the U.S.

On Wings of Waste

Pilot Jeremy Roswell plans to use aviation as a vehicle in more ways than one. The British-born environmentalist will use plastics from the Great Pacific garbage patch and landfills as aviation fuel during his 3,000-mile journey from San Francisco to Anchorage, Alaska, in August 2016.

The goal of the On Wings of Waste flight is to raise awareness about end-of-life plastics in oceans and to highlight their potential benefits as a source of fuel. Roswell will make several stops throughout the flight.

Roswell has been backed by Plasticenergy, a company that converts end-of-life plastic scrap into synthetic fuels. In this application, the end product is a high-quality, low-sulphur diesel.

“I had heard of the Pacific garbage patch, but until I stepped foot on the islands myself, I didn’t realize how big the issue was,” Roswell says. “The purpose of this journey is to showcase the potential of this revolutionary invention [of plastics-to-fuel technology] by doing something that has never been done before.”

Creative Clark County

Students of Clark County, Nevada, have the opportunity to create artwork that will be showcased to 13,000 recycling and waste professionals. WasteExpo, North America’s largest waste, recycling and sustainability event, has partnered with Nevada- Recycles, a program of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; The Venetian; The Palazzo; and Sands Expo to host a recycled art contest at WasteExpo 2016, June 7-8, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Contest rules are:

• Clark County, Nevada, students from Kindergarten through 12th grade can participate.
• Projects must be constructed of used, recyclable materials, such as tires, electronics, plastics, cardboard, aluminum cans, newspaper, magazines, etc.
• Winners (first, second, third and class) will be selected by a panel and announced by May 23, 2016, with the grand prize winner being selected at WasteExpo June 8, 2016.