The Cycling and Recycling Theory

SCRAP-VALUE BICYCLES IN EUROPE: AN INVITATION TO CYCLING... AND RECYCLING

Step by step, as 'Europe of manufacturers' leaves the place to ‘Europe of consumers’, the industry based on mass-manufacturing will face a serious problem of development.

From one side, the industry needs to pay an increasing attention to the great amount of intangible values carried on by The Machine, as healthy lifestyle, safe riding, fun and energy saving.

On the other side, bicycle friendly People , using their passion (and protest) for wider environment consciousness, and thanks to the Horizontal Innovation trend (1), would like to support in many ways a sustainable supply chain.

Furthermore, recycling is a priority task and not only a solution for the problem of waste: it is a way to improve the exploitation of existing resources (2). Every responsible producer is called to take care of the product beyond the limit of its end life (3).

Based on the above considerations, the paper will try to pose some hints, in order to invite the world of the bicycle to modify successfully its role: from hardware-commodity supplier to enlarged cycling-service supplier.

Technically most updated, thanks to the EN standards guidelines, every bicycle in Europe could be safer than now.
Equipped with a full range of anti-theft information systems and technical devices, the bicycle could be more secured than now.

Finally, applying the recycling philosophy to the dozens of millions of scrap bicycles lying all over , the bicycle can feed a global displacement & refurbishing process, in Europe and in the rest of the world.

1) Eric Von Hippel, Democratising Innovation (2004)
2) The Sixth Environment Action Programme of the European Community 2001-2010
3) EU Directive 2000/53/EC