Today when I went out with our recycle box to our recycle bin, I found a bicycle inside.
Well it was a classic BSO and in bad nick. Unfortunately, your LBS will not take this bicycle in and give it a new life. It will simply cost too much to get it back on the road. But by all means it is not the end of its life as a bicycle. With a bit of TLC and some spare parts you could get this up and running again as your backup bicycle.
Or you could give it to some of the various organisations who will happily take your old bicycle and do their best to give new life to it.
Here are a few below …
UK Based :
www.re-cycle.org – Bicycle Aid for Africa: Re-Cycle’s mission is to collect second hand bicycles and ship them to Africa. Our partners distribute bikes and teach riders the skills to repair and maintain them. Our bikes also help health/AIDS workers reach remote villages and even provide an ambulance service in remote Namibia.
www.bikerecycling.net/: It’s a directory of all the community projects, non-profit businesses, training and rehabilitation schemes and other projects that are happy to receive your donations of bikes, parts, accessories etc – and of course financial donations…
www.uk.freecycle.org/: Well at least just put it on this website and I’m sure that someone will be around shortly to pick it up.
www.bikeworks.org.uk: We recycle & refurbish used and abandoned bikes so that they can be re used or when this isn’t possible materials (steel, aluminium) are put into the recycling system.
www.thebikestation.org.uk/: The Bike Station is Edinburgh’s bicycle recycling and cycling promotion charity. We repair unwanted bikes and put them back on the road.
Even State side they are at it.
www.recycleabicycle.org/: Recycle-a-Bicycle is a community-based bike shop and non-profit organization that provides educational/job training programs and encourages environmental stewardship and everyday bicycle use. Through programs such as Earn-A-Bike, Ride Club, Cycle Craft, and Summer Youth Employment Program, RAB is dedicated to the health and well-being of NYC youth.
These are by all means not the only ones, this was just found after a quick googling around on the net, there are plenty more out there.
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