Every hobby desk has a graveyard of clipped plastic frames.
However, empty sprues pile up faster than expected. Warlord is now offering a greener way to clear them out. Better yet, there is a free-sprue reward for helping. This is a summary of a blog post found here.
Dead Sprues Get a Second Life
Warlord’s Dead Sprues initiative tackles a very familiar wargaming problem: the aftermath of building kits. A fresh sprue is full of promise, spare arms, weapons, heads, and new unit ideas. However, once the useful bits are gone, the empty frame becomes clutter. Some hobbyists chop sprue into rubble or basing texture. Others melt it into sprue goo for gap filling and conversion work. Still, most players eventually gather more plastic skeletons than useful plans.
Unfortunately, UK kerbside recycling usually does not accept plastic sprues. Therefore, many frames end up in landfill, which is not great for a plastic-heavy hobby. Warlord can access commercial recycling as a business, so it is opening that route to players. Hobbyists can drop dead sprues into dedicated bins at Warlord’s Nottingham HQ store, Warlord Games Wigan, and UK events. However, there are two important restrictions. First, Warlord can only take sprues from kits it sells, because recyclers need reliable plastic composition information. Second, players should not post sprues in, since Warlord cannot manage incoming recycling mail.
So this is a bring-them-with-you program for shop visits and shows. The fun twist is the reward system. For every ten dead sprues returned, players receive one random fresh sprue for free. It might be a recent release, an older favorite, dead stock, or even a pre-release test shot. Bases are not included, but a mystery sprue box has real goblin-brain appeal. Also, this could quietly encourage more kitbashing, which feels like a perfect hobby-side bonus.
Summary and Final Thoughts
Overall, this is a small but welcome move from Warlord. It will not solve every environmental issue in miniature gaming. However, it gives players a practical way to reduce waste without making the hobby feel preachy
