(Buy a) Bike for Good event

Syd has been recycling bicycles through an agreement with the Dunedin City Council since 2018. The majority of the bicycles taken from landfill are gifted back to the community as a way of enabling more participation in cycling activities as well as supporting people with commuting options. We work with social service agencies to gift these bicycles to people in need when they need them. 

In 2021, 455 bikes were rescued with a total of 5740kg that has been diverted from landfill. A total of 212 bikes were gifted back to the community and the remainder were scrapped for parts that have been stored to be used later. Only 2% of materials on a bicycle are non-recyclable.

The social outcomes of this service are what drives Syd — great outcomes for young people in our communities, whether our rakatahi young people learn valuable skills through fixing bikes (both social and soft skills as well as technical know-how) or whether they are given a bicycle and thus have the opportunity to own a bike; enabling mobility and exercise. These outcomes are valuable in our communities — and difficult to place a monetary value on. Yet these outcomes sit at the heart of Syd's values — young people helping young people in our community.

Our amazing Youth Worker and bicycle mechanic, Alex Gorrie, talked to the amazing team at Otago Access Radio before our event. You can listen to his interview here to find out more about what we do with our cycle recycling.

Check out a great article from 2021 in the Otago Daily Times about how bicycle recycling encourages the possibility of a circular economy here.