Hatched from an idea during a Christmas gathering among fellow members and their families back in 2011, the HUB Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Cycle Recycle program has since graduated to become one of our signature activities.

Cycle Recycle is our idea to recycle used and discarded bikes to promote cycling. Bikes are collected from Ridge Meadows Recycling and by donation, refurbished and then given away at annual community events such as Earth Day and GETI Fest.

Bicycle recycling is a fairly labour intensive program only made possible by a team of volunteers who dedicate their time, mechanical skills and real estate on their properties.

Our volunteers regularly scrounge for bikes at the recycling depot and decide which ones are recyclable, salvageable or ‘do-not-resuscitate’.

As one can imagine, bikes collected from the recycling depot and from individual donors are in various states of disuse. Those that belong to the ‘do-not-resuscitate’ pile are better off as scrap metal and won’t make the cut. The salvageable ones are collected and sent to the ‘chop-shop’ where reusable parts will be salvaged. The ones deemed recyclable, along with the salvageable, are collected and deposited at our volunteer’s garage where the recyclable ones are repaired, tuned and finally cleaned.

And on event days, the bikes are given away by raffle.

Typically about 20 bikes are available to be given away on any particular event, and the sizes of the bikes vary and depend on what was donated. Often, the kids’ bikes are most popular as kids grow out of their bikes so fast that the parents find it a constant task to up-size their chariots.

Witnessing the excitement expressed on the kids’ faces when they hear their names announced from the draws are especially heartwarming.

Our Cycle Recycle Program has become a highlight of events such as Earth Day and GETI Fest in Maple Ridge and always draws large and steady crowds at our booth.

Make sure to drop by our booth and check out these bikes during our next event!

If you’d like to donate a bike, please email mapleridge-pittmeadows@bikehub.ca.