From e-Bike batteries to tyres, bike industry ups its recycling game
Sustainability credentials have progressively become an important part of doing business, as well as when selling on to the consumer, who studies reveal will now pay a premium for genuine eco-credentials. Modern technology requires modern solutions and so issues like the recycling of e-bike batteries are now frequently brought up on industry message boards.
With Decathlon announcing a circular economy drive and OEM parts maker Herrmans offering a sustainable packaging service to its clients, the trend is now deep seated.
Here’s two more that have caught our eye this week:
Lime electric bike batteries recycled into speakers
British sustainable design company Gomi is giving 50,000 Lime e-bike batteries a second life by recycling them into zero-waste portable bluetooth speakers.
The limited-edition portable speaker will be available for 30 days on Kickstarter, from 2nd March, priced from £99.
Damaged Lime e-bike battery cells – which would otherwise have been recycled – power 100% of the speakers, and the marbled casing is created using 100% recycled plastic waste, which has been saved from landfill.
The speaker has a 20 hour battery life and come with a ‘repairs-for-life’ return service to ensure they never need to be thrown away unnecessarily.
This partnership will see Lime be among the first in the industry to extend the life of its e-scooters and e-bikes, as part of its broader ‘Ride Green’ initiative and Net Zero by 2030 commitment following a science-based target.
National tyre recycling scheme hits 200 sites
Just five months on from launch an with Madison now a support partner, tyre recycling business Velorim has now chalked up 200 sites across the UK.
The firm hopes to reach 1,000 sites by the end of this year in a bid to help bike shops address the issue of recycling waste rubber.
Commenting on achieving this landmark, Velorim CEO, Dave Hawthorn stated, “We are truly delighted that such a large proportion of the cycle trade has embraced the scheme so enthusiastically. It is important though, that as many as possible do their part by joining the scheme, particularly as much of the down-stream recycling and reprocessing operations are volume-dependent. The more tyres we collect – the more sustainable the whole scheme becomes.”
The recycling scheme is the result of several years of academic and technical research. Its aim is to reduce the estimated 44,000 tonnes of scrap bike tyres and inner tubes that end up in landfill every year in the UK alone.
Velorim says that businesses that agree to become local collection points do so at zero net cost to them, being able to pass on a Recycling Levy to their customers (Velorim recommends 50p per tyre and 20p per inner tube).