If you want to get rid of old VHS tapes, it’s important to know how to dispose of them properly. Alternatively, you can donate or sell the video cassettes.
What to do with the old VHS?
“Where to put the old VHS?” is a question that has certainly come to your mind if you have found old cassettes somewhere that you no longer want to keep. If you want to back up the contents of the VHS cassette, you should do this as a first step. You can either digitize the videos yourself using an intermediate device (called a video grabber) or you can find out about companies in your area that offer VHS digitization.
You can try to make some money with your old VHS tapes. For collectors, some of the old cassettes are real treasures. You could approach a sale through collector forums, online auction houses, or a flea market. How much your cassette is still worth has to be decided individually. If it’s a very rare film that isn’t available on DVD or Blu-ray, or one with a special sleeve, you can get more for it than if it’s an unknown film or a multi-rereleased classic . To get a rough idea of the price, you can find out about common prices in advance, for example in collectors’ forums or on VHS markets. Alternatively, you could also donate your cassettes and make someone happy who cannot afford Blu-rays or DVDs, for example. Charity shops often gratefully accept donations of video cassettes. Just call your local fundraiser or nonprofit shop ahead of time and see if they would accept your tapes.
If selling or donating is not an option for you, you can of course dispose of the cassettes. You should definitely delete the video recordings on the cassette beforehand; so you can be sure that nobody can view your (perhaps private) content anymore. If you only have a small number of VHS cassettes, you can dispose of them in the general waste. If you have a larger collection, you should go to a recycling center.
