How to Recycle or Donate Your Bike

Several organizations will accept recycled or donated bicycles.

Each year, more than 22 million bicycles are sold in the United States. It is a $6 billion per year industry. Old bikes are handed down, given away or stored away where they are of no use to anyone. Others are abandoned or thrown out and end up in landfills or scrap yards. If you want to recycle a bike or donate it to a good cause, there are organizations willing to take them.

Instructions

1. Check the condition of the bike before you donate it. Most organizations will accept a bike with a missing part or two, and bikes with visible wear and tear. If the bike has extensive rust or frame damage, it might not be suitable for a donation or reconditioning.

2. Contact a national group that works with bicycles. Some options are Pedals for Progress, Bikes for the World, Trips for Kids and the International Bicycle Fund.

3. Check the local Goodwill Industries outlets. Most of them will accept bicycles.

4. Organize a bike drive event in your community to collect unwanted bicycles to recycle. Non profit organizations will pick-up, refurbish and ship bicycles to developing countries but need grassroots organizations to gather bikes in quantities of 10 or more. Schools, scout troops, homeowners associations, shopping centers and churches may sponsor a bike drive.

References

• Pedals for Progress
• Bikes for the World
• International Bicycle Fund
• Trips for Kids