Recycle inner tubes with Schwalbe
If you have an inner tube that is beyond repair don’t throw it in the bin!
Take your punctured inner tubes with you at the Tor Divide where we will collect them and send them to Schwalbe for recycling.
We strongly believe in a tubeless set-up for off-road riding. Even when using tubeless though, it is good practice to carry a spare tube should the sealant be unable to close a puncture in the tyre. In some cases, for example our old tourer/commuter, it is just more practical and cheaper to use tubes and a reliable puncture-proof tyre (e.g. Schwalbe Marathon Plus) rather than upgrading wheels and tyres to switch to a tubeless set-up.
Regardless, it is highly likely to find an old inner tube stashed somewhere in the garage of a lot of cyclists whether is a punctured tube or a spare no longer fit for purpose (e.g. too wide/narrow, with a different valve from our current set-up).
Give your inner tubes a second life
The principles that underpin sustainability are very much applicable here, and should one happen to have a bunch of spare inner tubes they should follow these steps before binning them:
Repair
Try to fix the punctured tube. There are multiple ways to do this and we are fans of Park Tool guides and tutorials
Re-use
As bikepackers, the first use that comes to mind is to cut the inner tube to make patches to protect our bikes where the frame/fork might rub against bags. Bags and their straps can wear the paint by vibrating while we ride. This can result in a cosmetic damage - some refer to it as “battle scars” - as well as something more serious especially if one has a carbon-fibre frame and the damage is significant.
Another application could be to wrap the inner tube around the chainstay and protect the frame from being hit by the chain-slaps as well as rocks.
Creativity is the only limit here, as inner tubes can be re-used for an endless variety of applications. Some ideas to get you inspired are:
Recycle
Schwalbe recycles tyres and inner tubes and focusing on Product as one of their four pillars, aims to minimise waste, optimise use of material, achieve the highest quality and a closed circular economy.
Since January 2015, Schwalbe has produced more than 8.5mln recycled inner tubes. Schwalbe’s new inner tubes contain 20% recycled old tubes, are recycleable and, crucially, consume a fifth of the energy required to make new butyl inner tubes.
At the Tor Divide, you’ll be able to drop off any inner tubes at the venue before the start. These will be collected and sent to Schwalbe for recycling in the UK, saving waste from landfill and providing material for recycling into new tubes.
You can read more about Schwalbe’s commitments to sustainability here.
