Musicians Unite to Reduce Environmental Impact with Music World’s String Exchange Event

As a co-owner and general manager of Music World in Hazel Dell, Matt Gohlke has recently become aware of the environmental impact of disposing old instrument strings. He discovered that an estimated 1.5 million pounds of instrument string metal end up in landfills each year because they are not accepted through local recycling programs, as stated by TerraCycle, a recycling company. This revelation prompted Gohlke to partner with TerraCycle and guitar string manufacturer D’Addario to organize string-exchange events at Music World.

In the past three years, Music World has been hosting the free string exchange event, coinciding with Earth Day. During this event, Music World staff replaces the strings, and TerraCycle recycles the old ones. D’Addario provides 40 sets of strings each year for the event. Restringing an instrument usually costs $40, but Gohlke emphasized that this event not only benefits the community but also raises awareness about recycling and reducing landfill waste.

While this year’s event has concluded, Music World continues to accept and recycle old music strings year-round. One loyal customer of over a decade, Derek Neiman, decided to take advantage of the promotion and have his guitar restrung at Music World. Neiman praised the shop for always doing a great job.

Photographer Taylor Balkom contributed to this story by capturing images of the string exchange event and other musical instruments on display at Music World.