Retired Climbing Ropes Wanted!

Sterling Rope is as dedicated to protecting natural resources and wilderness areas as we are to manufacturing the best quality life-safety rope in the world. To this end, we are spreading the word about our climbing rope Recycling Redemption Initiative. For years Sterling Rope has recycled the nylon waste fiber that is left over from even the most efficient manufacturing processes—now we can take used dynamic climbing ropes and recycle those as well!

We invite you to take part in our Rope Recycling Redemption Initiative. Rather than having an old, retired rope sit in the back of your closet or worse, in a landfill, you can now return it to Sterling and we will recycle it! Simply send us your retired dynamic climbing or static ropes from any manufacturer and we will take it from there! We will even take back retired webbing as long as it is nylon. We will send them to an efficient recycling expert that grinds up, melts down, then repelletizes the nylon so it can be re-made into a variety of items like carpet fiber, telephones, coat hangers, and even children's toys!

Please only send back nylon ropes. Currently we can’t take products made with polyester, Dyneema®, Spectra® or polypropylene.

Why should you recycle your rope?

There are lots of reasons, but we feel the top three are:

1. Keep the rope out of the landfill.
2. Keep climbers safe by retiring old rope once and for all.
3. Reuse the petroleum-based nylon for something else.

Where do I send my rope?

Simply send your retired rope to the address below (the U.S. Postal Service is very affordable):

Sterling Rope Company, Inc.
C/O: Rope Redemption Program
26 Morin Street
Biddeford, ME 04005-4413

Note: From time to time, select Authorized Sterling Rope Retail partners will be offering a Redemption Incentive program in addition to our ongoing efforts. Check back here or with your local retailer to see when and where the next promotion will be.

What’s Next?

Going forward, Sterling Rope would like to make our rope recycling service available at all major climbing events and festivals! In an effort to minimize the amount of transportation that the retired ropes go through to get back to us, we feel these events are the perfect place to consolidate ropes as the climbers will already be traveling to the venue, thus eliminating a "special" trip to a store just to recycle a cord. So, keep your eyes peeled at the next comp or festival! Special thanks to Rock / Creek for their collection efforts at the Triple Crown events.

Of course, we encourage reusing rope on your own to make dog leashes, rugs, and tie-downs; however, please be sure a retired rope is never used as a life-safety line. Also, know that countless miles of rope is produced every year between all of the various brands so simply reusing the old rope is not enough to reduce its impact on our environment. Together we can make a difference!