If you're anything like me, you hate throwing things away. In the cycle of 'Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle', "bin it" has no place. So what do you do when the essential safety equipment for the sport you love doesn't have an end of life solution? That's the question that led me down the path to launching Send On Upcycling, through which I upcycle retired rock climbing gear.
The Problem
As a rock climber, there is gear you simply cannot do without. To top rope climb, you're going to need a harness, a rope, carabiners and a belay device. If you're climbing outdoors, you'll need a helmet to protect your noggin. And that's before we get into all the extra gear you'll need to sport or trad climb. Some of this gear can be shared, but there's only so much you can do to "Rethink" or "Reduce" and still stay safe.
Due to the natural degradation of materials, most of this safety equipment (ropes, helmets, harnesses, slings, etc - basically most items except metalwork) need to be retired 10 years after their date of manufacture - even if they've never been used! With heavily used items, these will get replaced much sooner. Some climbers get creative with reusing their old gear for non-safety purposes; like weaving a door mat from their old rope, or using their old harness for weighted hangboard training. But for others, this gear either gets slung in the bin, or lurks for years forgotten in the back of a cupboard because they're just not sure what to do with it!
For commercial operations, there's usually just not the time or resources to do much with gear once it is deemed no longer safe to climb with. There's often also the concern about liability should their old gear be misused, so it is much simpler to just destroy it and send it to landfill. With a high traffic indoor climbing gym, ropes rarely make it past 6-12 months. With the recent increase in the popularity of climbing, this stacks up to a lot of old ropes and harnesses ending up in landfill.
Finding a Solution
For me, the road to launching a business started with one question - "What should I do with my old rope?". Working in the retail shop of the rock climbing company I guide for, it's a question I was asked frequently. Climbers are generally pretty awesome people, who care deeply for the environments they climb in, and aren't thrilled about creating waste. Unfortunately the only answer I was able to give was "Have you tried making rope mats?".
I knew there had to be a better solution, so I went digging for one. My suspicions were confirmed, in that there is no recycling solution for nylon ropes, nor the vast majority of climbing gear. I did however stumble across several awesome companies in the US and UK making upcycled creations from old gear. I just couldn't find anyone doing it locally, and suggesting people ship their old ropes overseas (a costly and unappealing exercise) wasn't going to cut it, so I left it there.
However, when it came time to retire my own rope, the question niggled at me again. I looked again at what people were making overseas, and thought "I'm sure I can do this". So, I bought myself a sewing machine, and taught myself how to sew via the endlessly helpful world of YouTube. And I found myself absolutely loving it! Creating something new from beautiful materials that would otherwise have ended up in landfill felt amazing.
When I showed my creations to some fellow climbers, they not only loved them, but wanted to know if I could take the old gear they'd been hanging on to. There was obviously a gap to be filled here, and it was simply a case of "If no one else is going to do it, why not me?". I was perfectly positioned, as someone already working in the industry, to reach out to organisations and offer an alternative end of life solution for their climbing gear. So that's what I did! And the vast majority have been stoked to have somewhere to send things on to, with an array of people from social clubs, school camps, and climbing gyms already coming on board over my first 6 months of operation.
Feedback on the items I'm creating has been so positive and heartwarming, with climbers and non-climbers alike loving the bright and beautiful things that can be produced. It's prompted so many wholesome conversations about upcycling and reusing in general, which I just love.
What's next?
For now, Send On Upcycling is small by design. As a mother of young twins, there's only so much time that I can dedicate to the business. However, it's a venture I hope to continue to grow over time. I'm not going to save the world through Send On Upcycling, but each metre of rope or individual harness I save from ending up in landfill is still making a positive difference. And if I can inspire even one person to look at "waste" differently, then that's a huge bonus.
Remember - making meaningful change isn't about a few people doing things perfectly, but about lots of people doing what they can (in all its imperfect beauty) that adds up.
If you'd like to follow along with my journey, you can keep up to date via Send On Upcycling's Facebook or Instagram accounts!
Tegan is the owner of Send On Upcycling, through which she takes in retired rock climbing gear and upcycles it into useful and attractive new items. She has worked as a rock climbing guide since 2017, and an outdoor activity facilitator at school camps since 2018. As a mother to 16 month old twins, she wants to set a positive example by standing up and taking small but meaningful actions to reduce landfill waste.