What Should I do With Old VHS Tapes

What Should I do With Old VHS Tapes

VHS tapes and their respective players are an age old media format. With all other things we don’t use they’re probably sitting in the attic or gathering dust in some corner.

So you’re probably wondering – what should I do with my old VHS tapes?

Luckily our team in Happy Ireland Productions have procured a list of what you can do! VHS tapes still have their uses although more niche so lets get started with number 1.

1. Responsibly Throw Away Your VHS Tapes

Unfortunately, VHS tapes are not recyclable and are very rarely accepted in recycling centres. But aren’t tapes made of plastic? Well, yes and no.

The main reason you can’t simply pile VHS tapes together with other plastics such as bottles and plastic bags is that the tape itself is made of metal components like chromium. The recycling process would break down the tape and the metals could potentially secrete and contaminate the surrounding environment.

The best thing to do with these are to let dedicated reuse companies get rid of them such as Freecycle. You can also consider companies that offer a recycling alternative such as GreenDisk

2. Donate Your VHS Tapes

Specifically for commercial release VHS tapes such as movies. Charity shops can be a good alternative to get rid of your tapes although it might take some investigation.

Charity shops typically will take your unused items and dedicate the proceed to a good cause however most won’t take tapes. Some notable names that may take your tapes are the Salvation Army or the British Heart Foundation but it’s worth enquiring beforehand.

If you’re having any luck, try donating to local libraries and schools who may repurpose these for media studies.

3. Sell Your VHS tapes

You may not know it but maybe some of your tapes have value if sold to the right person. Vintage collectors and nostalgic individuals exist and they would love to add rare VHS tapes into their collection.

Historically, some tapes have been sold for a decent price such as:

  • Movie VHS releases – George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead sold for £185 on eBay according to the Sun
  • Promo Videos or Samples – numerous listings can be found on marketplace sites selling old for various genres such as music and video games

Some good marketplace sites to start selling your private collection include:

  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • Facebook or Reddit online communities

4. Digitise Your VHS tapes

Lastly, you can save your recorded footage within your tapes into a modern media. Businesses such as us specialise in outdated media conversion. Our VHS transfer service means you can unlock the content of those tapes.

Maybe you’ve forgotten or simply might not know what’s on your tapes but anything that’s been held and stored for such a significant length time, might mean there was some reason for storing it.

You could rediscover old memories and precious highlights in life.

We hope you have enjoyed our blog! Want to read more from us? Check out our Blog Page.

With Happy Ireland Productions, you can preserve your memories to last forever. We can work with all sorts of media. From video tape transfers and film processing to cine film conversion. Browse our full list services.

Visit one of our partners to drop off your assortment of media. You’ll receive your DVD or digital copy with the original. Simple and Safe!

Your memories are priceless so why risk losing them.

Learn more about Happy Ireland Productions or Contact us for any enquiries.