Youth en Route gives old bikes new life
Youth en Route sees the potential in every bicycle. Members of the Greater Forest Lawn 55+ Society were at one of Calgary’s landfills recently to collect bicycles. The GFL 55+ Society works with Youth en Route to fix bicycles and provide them to local schools so that students have accessibility to active transportation. The landfill has an entire section full of bicycles, and the GFL 55+ Society alongside YER takes those bikes, cleans and fixes them, and gives them new life.
Bent Nielson, one of our partners in the GFL 55+ Society, arranged the visit to the landfill. He was able to find over 20 bicycles that had been sorted out of the junk pile and were in relatively good condition. Most of these 20 bicycles had flat tires, and one had a missing chain, but they all had good seats. Half of the bicycles were kids bikes, but luckily Rob Kemp – another member of the GFL 55+ Society – had a contact that fixes and donates kids bikes in Bowness.
One of the bicycles, a 10 speed road bike, was actually in such good shape that it was declared ready to go and was sent to be exchanged at Bathtub Bikes. Adam Rhind, owner of Bathtub Bikes, weighs in on the process and importance of recycling bikes.
What you can do with an old bike
“The biggest part that I find is the longevity of what you can do with an old bike,” says Adam. “I like to look at it in multiple pieces as far as consumable and hard parts go. Anything consumable is a bike that can be easily repaired, i.e. tubes, tires, chains and brake pads and cables. Any bike in this state can easily be repaired with a little bit of elbow grease and a will to do so.”
Adam explained that if a bike’s hard parts are damaged, such as the frames, wheels, or fork, it is best to recycle the bicycle. There is no need to throw it into a garbage dump, as most of it is made of recyclable metal. Youth en Route is using bikes that would traditionally end up in the scrap pile, and turning them into accessible modes of transportation for youth around the city.
“Any bike can be a great bike with a little bit of will.”
Recycling and donating bicycles
Youth en Route is working with the City of Calgary to find better solutions when it comes to salvaging old and damaged bicycles. Our hope is that Calgarians will choose to donate their bicycles before they end up in a landfill, and before they are damaged beyond repair.
Rather than throw away an old bicycle, we invite you to connect with us and donate the bicycle to Youth en Route! Find out more information about how to donate here.
