SKATEBOARD RECYCLING
Today is the best day to take responsibility for the condition of our home. Both the family one, the one in which we wake up and eat, but also, and especially the earthly home, that we share not only with our loved ones, but also with many species of plants and animals. There are currently over 7.6 billion people in the world and about 3 trillion trees, which means there are 420 trees per person. Every year there are planted 5 billion new trees – you might think that the number is pretty impressive but there are 15 million trees destroyed at the same time!
The mighty power that shapes the world to a large extent is our daily choices, including the consumer ones. The state of the world, we will leave for future generations, matters to us. Therefore, our daily work at Boardthing is based largely on recycling.
SO HOW IT WORKS…
The skateboard is made of plywood - 7 thin layers of Canadian maple, with a grip tape on top of it (thanks to which the feet stick to the board better). Surfers in the 1950s decided to move their water passion to the land and attach small wheels to the board. Of course, the skateboard has undergone many transformations and improvements over the years, but it was in California that it had its beginning. Unlike a surfboard, the skateboard breaks very often (of course, it depends on how much it is used). This is usually not a few fractures over the years, but several dozen, sometimes even a few hundreds. And the cost of a new board is about 50 euros! What happens to the broken boards? They come to our workshop, of course ;) Unfortunately, not all of them, as there are about 2 million broken boards only in the United States every year!
AND HOW IT STARTED…
When we cast our mind back to the beginning of our actions as Boardthing, we encounter an important and inspiring character - Haroshi. He is a Japanese artist who creates skateboard sculptures. Looking at these colourful layers of Canadian maple, a creative process had begun in our heads. What could we do with such broken boards? We started with rings, then there were grinders and Iphone cases.
More and more artists are beginning to see the potential of reusing broken boards for something useful. MapleXO is a brand from the United States, which transforms broken skateboards into jewellery, everyday use gadgets such as screwdrivers or huge skate-lamps, while the French brand, 7PLIS, mainly makes glasses, jewellery and watches. In fact, every brand has its own unique vision and original ideas about what can be made from skateboard plywood.
What we all have in common is love for skateboarding, recycling and the will to live life without causing harm to the planet.