There are a lot of skateboard themed decorative light switch covers out there. Most of them are bad, and some of them are really bad, but at least one of them is amazing. There is only one, Señor Skateboard. – Thanks to David Maes for the tip.

Sustainability in skateboard manufacturing has to be tackled by the skateboard industry at some point. Bamboo, hemp, whatever… There’s a Kickstarter campaign running right now for a process to make skateboards out of 100% recycled plastic. It’s a little different than most kickstarters, this entire project is open source, and the campaign is essentially just trying to raise money to prepare proper documentation to release in the public domain, allowing anybody the chance to replicate what Jason Knight has done.

Ernest Packaging has produced a great series of marketing videos called Cardboard Chaos in which they make unusual things out of cardboard, including snowboards, surfboards, and of course, skateboards. Professor Schmitt and Tony Hawk were brought in to help with the skateboard edition. The first try worked pretty well until they got to the frontside disaster. After they worked out the kinks they let Tony have a go at it. His verdict: It’s essentially as good as any other skateboard, but it’s too heavy. They left out some footage that would have made it more interesting, but perhaps diluted their message. I would have liked to get the details on which construction methods worked well and which ones didn’t. Between the initial testing they went from a board that felt light to one whose heavy weight was practically the first thing that Tony commented on. All this proves really, is that with enough fiberglass and epoxy, you can probably make a skateboard out of anything. Beanies off to Ernest Packaging for finding a way to get exposure through Extreme!™ sports in way that doesn’t turn skateboarder’s collective stomaches. Just think, you could make a skateboard out of recycled issues of…

I don’t know what’s been like in your neck of the woods, but it’s been an unseasonably hot summer here in Portland. Time to cool off. Check out these fishing lures made out of recycled skateboards from Maxximus Skateboards. Their main product is actually skateboards, pressed and hand screened (as they should be…) in Savannah, Georgia. I found out about them through an article on independent board manufacturers on the Ride Channel. Update: Seeing all the Confederate battle flag bullshit on that Facebook page makes me want to pull this post. I spent half my childhood life, and indeed my earliest memories are of living in Georgia. I will always have fond memories and a special place in my heart for Georgia and the south. But there’s no excuse for pride in a racist heritage or ignorance of the true meaning of the Confederate Battle flag. I guess you can be enlightened on some fronts and still be backwards and ignorant in others. And for the record, I think the General Lee car from the Dukes of Hazard should be left intact.

It’s Earth Day, so if you want to listen to your old 7″ singles you might consider picking up one of these 45 Dome Shots, a collaboration with Maple XO and John Cardiel. Earth day?? This should have been a collab for Record Store Day.

Crazy expensive but beautifully designed and constructed by Focus in Rotterdam, these newly released tables come in two different sizes, and are constructed with the largest continuous surface area of recycled skateboard decks I’ve ever seen. The smaller one (200x90x77cm) aka DecksTop 33, is constructed with 33 skateboard decks while the larger (240x90x77cm) DecksTop 39 uses… well you know. They start at €2.726,45, but that includes the hefty 21% VAT tax. Man. that’s a lot of tax, but they probably have bitchin’ free health care and a decent education system. Someone’s is reaching their ID students well, that’s for sure.

Upcycle, recycle, bicycle. Yet another Kickstarter for a skateboard project, this time to make skateboards out of used bourbon barrels. It seems moderately cool at first and I was kind of on board until I watched the video. I must have been in a bad mood, because listening to these guys made me want to punch them in the face. I’m not a violent person, and I’m sure they are nice people, so I apologize to the folks at Hepcat, which unfortunately has nothing to do with the excellent band Hepcat. The company is not primarily a skateboard brand, they just want to make lifestyle products out of upcycled material, an idea that has been recycled a lot lately. Yes, this is backlash. I am one sour (mash) old man today. Silly and overpriced, but I bet they smell good. – Thanks to MC for the tip.

You’re looking at a quarter pipe with a final surfacing made of recycled skateboards, put together by Maple XO for an event called Go Skate PDX to be held at Gallery 135 in Portland on June 21st. It’s an art show to benefit public skateparks in Portland. More pics and flyer after the jump.

This is actually a fake surfboard constructed out of uses skateboard pieces, designed to hold an actual skateboard when it’s mounted to the wall. I’ve seen a handful of skateboard hangers, a couple of them made from old skateboards, but this is the best one yet. Made in Portland by TurnCo aka Skip Marcotte. You an get this one and other upcycled skateboard products from his Etsy shop, or from selected skate shops in Portland. I had a parent of a kid who is in school with my boy call me up and ask where he could get some used skateboards for his son’s art project. I had to tell him that he’d likely be hard pressed to find some these days.

Skateboards made from recycled aluminum. There’s no guarantee it was a beer can in a past life, but Beercan Boards sound better than “Diet Pepsi can Boards.” They’ve taken the old aluminum death plank board of yesteryear and upgraded it with a channel beam which I assumed was to give it stiffness, but it turns out that’s also part of the “TruckTrax” system that allows you to micromanage your wheelbase to your OCD heart’s content. Who needs that? Downhill guys, of course. The boards aren’t even expensive compared to their wooden brethren. Right now, the corporate site only features downhill boards, but Keystone Skate Supply also has some more traditional shapes. I don’t know if those are also traditionally priced because Keystone’s web site is kind of jacked. To help preserve the ends, Beercan boards have “bottle caps” made from 100% recycled milk jugs. In the event that you do wear it out, you can recycle your recycled board and get a new one for $40. I’ve never seen one or ridden one, but the concept seems pretty solid, especially given the target audience. If I had a beef it would be that those concaves look a little clunky. It’s…