(At least one of the front/rear reflectors is missing about 50% of the time.) The kids' bikes are given away at Christmas by Christmas Anonymous, while the adult bikes are given to adults who need them throughout the year, by way of the county social services workers.Īn occasional expensive bike in good condition is sold to provide operating funds, and bikes whose condition is too poor for rehab are stripped of usable parts, have their wheels removed, and sent to a recycler as steel scrap (the wheels being sold separately at a much lower value). The bikes are sorted, and those that are in reasonable condition are rehabbed - cleaned up, tire patched, wheels trued, chains lubed, reflectors replaced. The group (about 10 active members) collects used bikes and "rehabs" them for use by the "indigent" members of our community. I have been working with an outfit called Cycle It Forward for several years now. Then act accordingly to it for your local ordinances. Most cyclists I know use a few of them as ties on a luggage rack or things like that, but you accumulate so many of them that they have to be thrown away.Ĭheck the packaging for the bicycle parts you buy - if they're recyclable, they should have some recycling logo. there are services which specialize in this, and they may be subscribed to them (and you might be able to use them for a nominal fee or free, maybe). I'd suggest checking with your local bike shop to see how they recycle old bicycles/ chains/ tubes/ tires /cassettes/chainrings/etc. Tires are often recycled on cars/trucks, but I don't know if an automotive shop will take a bicycle tire. A scrap metal shop might (unlikely) also take a frame, or artists for art projects. You have to check with your local ordinance to see if/how you can recycle them. If the bike is in very bad condition, usually in a co-op situation or something, you can still strip some parts from the bike and recycle the rest.Īs for recycling, there is a huge variation in whats accepted for recycling even between neighboring towns (or even parts of the same town) in the US.
You can still ride an old bike fine - my current road bike is 27 years old (and there are still tonnes of 70's bikes on the road, just not among the road racer crew). An ancient bike might require some new bearing grease and stuff, but a bike isn't like the leftovers in your fridge - you can bring it back to acceptable condition quite easily. This is probably the most environmentally friendly thing to do (possibly via donation to a local charity/bike co-op). If a bike is just sitting in a shed or something for a few years (where few can be a few decades), the best way to recycle it is to just throw a set of new tires+tubes+brake pads on, lube up the chain and then go ride it.