I’m writing this article to show fellow FasterSkier readers how easy it is to recycle ski wax. I’ve been recycling ski wax for a while now, and hopefully the following instructions and pictures of how I recycle ski wax will encourage others to consider doing the same.
What do I mean by “recycling†ski wax? I’m referring to taking the wax shavings generated from scraping skis, melting them down and making new bars of ski wax.
Why recycle ski wax? Well, there are a few reasons. The first reason is environmental. Most of the ski wax that is produced in the world ends up in the trash, and soon after, in our landfills. Only a small fraction of a block of ski wax is actually absorbed by ski bases. The majority of the wax is scrapped into shavings which most people throw away. I’m sure I don’t have to explain why throwing less stuff, especially hydrocarbon based products, into our landfills or hazardous waste facilities is a good thing.
A second reason to recycle ski wax is to save money. If you can recycle and re-use your wax shavings you can get 4 or 5 or more times the ski waxings out of a block of wax.
A possible third reason to recycle ski wax is to support our sport. If large ski racing events sorted and saved the wax shavings generated at their events and gave them to junior programs, then the shavings could be recycled and used to make free ski wax for our next generation of skiers. Anything we can do to help cut expenses for our sport’s new generations is a good thing.
So, how do you recycle ski wax? Well, the first thing you need to do is set up your wax bench so that your wax shavings fall on a clean reusable plastic tarp or piece of Visqueen. Then scoop up the shavings and save them in Ziploc bags (recycled ones of course). You can sort the wax however you want. I personally just have two bags, “warm†and “coldâ€, that I put wax shavings in.
