Environmental Impact of Skateboarding

[Omamori]

How much does skateboarding impact the environment?  There’s the glues that go on shoes and boards, urethane does not decompose, all the torn shoes, broken boards, etc.  I mean how much waste are skaters producing?  And can all skateboard products be recycled (ex. griptape)?

[tkp]

we recycle wheels.

http://satoriwheels.org/relife/

i know paul schmitt makes element skateboards and a few other big companies. he is very keen on creating the boards in environmentally friendly ways. http://www.createaskate.org

[popsiclesandskatin]

Ive always wondered what we would do if we ran out of trees. How long could we still buy wooden skateboards before the well runs dry?

[Sondor]

Ive always wondered what we would do if we ran out of trees. How long could we still buy wooden skateboards before the well runs dry?

then we should plant more

[Cadillac Ranch Dressing]

These guys take donated broken boards and make them into furniture and other things.

http://www.artofboard.com/

[chockfullofthat]

Ive always wondered what we would do if we ran out of trees. How long could we still buy wooden skateboards before the well runs dry?

I'd worry about your knees before the trees.

[BraveUlysses]

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Ive always wondered what we would do if we ran out of trees. How long could we still buy wooden skateboards before the well runs dry?

[close]

then we should plant more

But what if we run out of soil?

[papasmurfsdog]

Pretty sure agriculture is the main cause of deforestation; the making of skateboards is a drop in the bucket in comparison. I think I heard that for every tree cut down, loggers have to plant 10 seeds in its place (I heard this like 10 years ago, probably me being a naive kid). In terms of shoes, I'm not sure. Its not like you can donate shoes that are torn to shit.

[ttching!]

Producing concrete involves using a lot of energy.

[popsiclesandskatin]

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Ive always wondered what we would do if we ran out of trees. How long could we still buy wooden skateboards before the well runs dry?

[close]

then we should plant more

My what if scenario would be if we ran out of trees so they had to make cuts to what can use the wood and what cant.

[pica]

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Ive always wondered what we would do if we ran out of trees. How long could we still buy wooden skateboards before the well runs dry?

[close]

then we should plant more

[close]

My what if scenario would be if we ran out of trees so they had to make cuts to what can use the wood and what cant.

i'd rather worry about running out of mineral oil.
and IF the world would run out of wood (and trust me it's never gonna happen since its a renewable resource as some professor in this thread already mentioned) there will be other problems, and no more new skateboards might be the last thing to care about.

[H8R part 4]

Pretty sure agriculture is the main cause of deforestation; the making of skateboards is a drop in the bucket in comparison. I think I heard that for every tree cut down, loggers have to plant 10 seeds in its place (I heard this like 10 years ago, probably me being a naive kid). In terms of shoes, I'm not sure. Its not like you can donate shoes that are torn to shit.

i usually throw all the shoes i've skated out into 1 box and leave it downstairs for someone to take. 
you'd be amazed how many people will ship beat up shoes back to their countries.   

[Rambo: The Skateboard Pimp]

Hoverboards bro!!!

[pica]

Expand Quote

Pretty sure agriculture is the main cause of deforestation; the making of skateboards is a drop in the bucket in comparison. I think I heard that for every tree cut down, loggers have to plant 10 seeds in its place (I heard this like 10 years ago, probably me being a naive kid). In terms of shoes, I'm not sure. Its not like you can donate shoes that are torn to shit.

[close]

i usually throw all the shoes i've skated out into 1 box and leave it downstairs for someone to take. 
you'd be amazed how many people will ship beat up shoes back to their countries.   

i once left a complete beat up pair of nike harbors (holes in the sole and everything) on the street..
i've seen a homeless guy rocking them at the supermarket a few days later.

[Roots and leaves]

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Ive always wondered what we would do if we ran out of trees. How long could we still buy wooden skateboards before the well runs dry?

[close]

then we should plant more

[close]

My what if scenario would be if we ran out of trees so they had to make cuts to what can use the wood and what cant.

[close]

i'd rather worry about running out of mineral oil.
and IF the world would run out of wood (and trust me it's never gonna happen since its a renewable resource as some professor in this thread already mentioned) there will be other problems, and no more new skateboards might be the last thing to care about.

Well, no more trees = no more oxygen = no more life on earth, right ?

[KoRnholio8]

it shouldn't be so hard to recycle broken trucks, right? also, wood would easily gound into sawdust for paper... (de-gripping would be a pain in the ass)

do it like etnies - help reforestation and use sustainable energy

[sprayTAN101]

dont worry about the trees. we plant more than is chopped down. to my knowledge you dont make boards of rain forrest.

concrete industry pollute a lot, same for aluminium (trucks), wich btw is the only think worth recycling.
pros and people travel a lot. other than that, i dont really see the problem compared to other industries and jobs.

[bakedRice]

i think we're good. compared to many other industries we really are on the lower end of the scale, but still, industrial production means some sort of environmental tradeoff, i would be much more worried about the environmental impact of literally everything else you're doing before skating. things like industrial food are the real environment killers.

[penguin meat]

Bamboo boards might become more popular in the future.  Bamboo is being grown in Mexico to produce bio-mass and from what we've seen it isn't bad at all for making skateboards.  It's good because it grows quick as fuck and can be the closest thing we have to American skateboards.

[BarcelonaCEO]

I honestly believe that environmental impact of non skateboarding is higher than skateboarding. I mean, embrace a deck and start pretending outside your office or workplace. Some collateral effects presented throughout this practise will be happiness, sensation seeking and reckless behaviour traits, young hipster ladies aside, it will provide a more sensitive approach to ecology and environmental questions.

[Stunts]

I honestly believe that environmental impact of non skateboarding is higher than skateboarding. I mean, embrace a deck and start pretending outside your office or workplace. Some collateral effects presented throughout this practise will be happiness, sensation seeking and reckless behaviour traits, young hipster ladies aside, it will provide a more sensitive approach to ecology and environmental questions.

I have no idea what you just said. But I think I agree.

[vegan*shawn]

Most maple that is grown for skateboards comes from tree farms where trees are replanted.

[AfterEight]

I honestly believe that environmental impact of non skateboarding is higher than skateboarding. I mean, embrace a deck and start pretending outside your office or workplace. Some collateral effects presented throughout this practise will be happiness, sensation seeking and reckless behaviour traits, young hipster ladies aside, it will provide a more sensitive approach to ecology and environmental questions.

Your english isn't very good; that first sentence is correct.

[Kitto Horsley]

I'm pretty sure momentum wheels did a line of wheels made with soy or something more friendly to the planet.

[aojiru]

Gonna drop off some old shoes for recycling at the Converse outlet next time.  These are ones I can't even give away since the foam, air bubbles and leather is cracked/crumbly and the soles got hard and slippery.

Thought about taking some old trucks down to the recycling place.  Maybe as a last resort if/when the axles or baseplates break.

[beef stroganoff]

Robbie Gangemi is making Vehicle decks out of recycled maple.
http://www.popmasterinnovations.com/home.html

[360 frip]

Scratched handrails and waxed ledges. Ruined my neighbourhood.

[layzieyez]

The need for paper to wipe the world's collective asses makes the consumption of trees for skateboarding look miniscule.  Don't lose sleep over the trees you're riding.  And don't use your board to wipe your ass either.

[aojiru]

Just asked at the local recycling center.  25 cents per pound for trucks, if you take out the axles/kingpins and 5 center per pound if you leave the axles/kingpins in.  Guess it's better than nothing?

[Rawdog]

Ive peeled the grip off of old boards that broke prematurely. Some shoe stores take old shoes and send them to plants to grind them up and make them into playground material. There are probably wheel companies that are making some form of bio degradable wheels as someone mentioned previous. Analog uses old wheels to "wheel wash" some of their jeans. It would make sense that you could boil down trucks and make new ones. All in all I think the only non ecological benefit to skateboarding is the manufacturing process and even thats being cleaned up. Skateboarding as a whole is probably cleaner than running.