Gold Coast recycling hub idea takes shape

Wouldn’t it be great if regular bike riders (such as Bicycle Queensland members for instance) had somewhere local that they could drop off for recycling those consumable items of bike riding, such as tyres, tubes and chains?

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a central location for people who are interested in low-cost bike riding could access second-hand parts, especially those items such as cranks, saddles, seat posts, and wheels which often have a useful life long after they are no longer the latest and greatest.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was somewhere for mums and dads (such as Bicycle Queensland members for instance) to be able to donate children’s bikes and even adult bikes which are no longer needed but still have plenty of useful life ahead of them?

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a central training location in our largest regional city for bicycle shops to send trainee mechanics, which also had the side benefit of fixing up low-cost donated bikes to go to worthy recipients?

The City of Gold Coast is looking at all these ideas coming together in a cycling/recycling hub. The City’s Water and Waste team hosted the first public discussions on the idea this week, and Bicycle Queensland’s Director of Advocacy Andrew Demack was there to support the concept.

Also represented in industry and community meetings were bike retailers and manufacturers, as well as groups such as Men’s Sheds and community bike repair groups.

“Bicycle Queensland’s members have so much to contribute to this type of Council-led project,” Demack said.

“We are enthusiastically supporting this project and hope to see it move from concept to pilot as soon as possible. I am sure that there are local groups in Brisbane and all the major regional cities which would love to see councils engage in proactively promoting a circular economy approach to the bike industry and many other industries.

“Bikes are well-suited to be ahead of the curve on this because the bike riding community is already very engaged on sustainability and recycling,” Demack said.