Piano graveyard - is it true?

[timh1]

There are a lot of suggestions in the media (e.g. The One Show last week) that many people are dumping pianos in landfill sites, because they do not have the space or the desire to keep them. This sounds a terrible shame! Does anyone know if it's true, and what the scale is?

Many thanks.

Tim H

[joseph]

I'm sure it is true, but not every piano is worth saving. Many will be well past their best and unable to produce a satisfactory musical result without an impractical financial injection.

[mdw]

They have got to go somewhere. We charge to take away break up and skip pianos or do it for free if you are buying from us. The frames go for scrap metal £7-£9 per frame. The back bracings ( no polish on them ) go on my fire over winter ( saves me £7 a bag for fire wood) and the rest goes in a skip. I can get 3-4 in a small skip once broken down. The skip stuff gets burnt for energy I think, cant see it going in the ground. We did try popping the key leads out once but its not worth the effort and I don't think burning the keys and recovering the lead that way would be very safe!!!.
Its more the recycling than the money as I would get paid more spending the time tuning. But its still viable ( as we are paid up front when collecting ) doing it when you have the odd dead hour once a month.

[Barrie Heaton]

There are a lot of suggestions in the media (e.g. The One Show last week) that many people are dumping pianos in landfill sites, because they do not have the space or the desire to keep them. This sounds a terrible shame! Does anyone know if it's true, and what the scale is?

Many thanks.

Tim H

it has it advantages... I picked up a Challen SL grand action with nice ivory keys been after one for spars for ages The rest of the piano was skipped

I did a Chappell last week they got it for £1.00 (EB) it was on pitch as well they are happy to spend some money on the action which will make it a nice piano for them


Barrie

[vernon]

I can disencobulate a joanna in 15 mins. Frame if present to re-cycling.wood to stove, long hinges,locks pedals to join the hundreds we already have. Keys with celluloid tops make excellent firelighters

However, I hope someone knowlagable person puts an eye over the condemned pianos.

[rxd]

When I was a kid there was at least one old piano on our neighbourhood bonfire every November 5th. That was when neighbourhood bonfires were legal ( I think).

[Gill the Piano]

Wycombe Show used to have a piano smashing competition where two teams (often from the rugby club and the fire station) competed to break up a piano in the shortest time so that the whole thing could be put through the middle of a car tyre. Now the phantom Elfin Safety mob would ban it in a heartbeat.
Some purists insist the piano bits should go through a letterbox, but that seems a bit extreme to me!