Countless bicycles are taking up space and gathering dust in American
garages. But in many countries, they can be a primary mode of transportation.
One Boy Scout in Doylestown, Pennsylvania is leading an effort to
get bikes out of the garage and into the hands of those who can use
them. Brad Linder has more.
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Pedals for Progress
Recycling bikes and promoting green transportation in the Third
World.
September 24, 2002
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by Dan Simon
Used bicycles may not have a lot of value in the United States where
buying new stuff is sort of a national pastime. In many third world
countries, these castoffs can find new life as a primary source of
transportation.
That's the premise behind the organization Pedals for Progress, a
High Bridge, N.J., based organization that collects working used bikes,
prepares them for shipping and sends them to more than a dozen third
world countries in South America and Africa. In the past, the group
has also sent bikes to Southern Pacific islands.
A street vendor sells cotton candy from a used bike he
received through the organization. Photo courtesy of Pedals
for Progress.
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In all, Pedals for Progress has shipped more than 57,000 bicycles
since it was formed in 1991 by a former Peace Corps volunteer. The
group has a Southern New Jersey/Philadelphia office located in Cherry
Hill, which is coordinating the bike drive mentioned in Brad's radio
story.
The group's six-person staff also takes pride in the fact they're
keeping these used bikes from the waste stream thus reducing landfill
waste. Besides keeping the used bikes out of the landfills, they also
solicit donations of spare parts and supplies from bicycle manufacturers
that would also be otherwise thrown away. Pennsylvania's Cannondale
is one such manufacturer that donates these items.
Staff members work mainly to package the donated bikes and parts for
shipment. The organization has stayed small to keep costs down. People
who donate bikes are also asked to make a $10 dollar donation to help
pay for the cost of packaging and shipping the bicycles.
The group gets many of its donated bikes through area bike shops which
give people a way to get rid of their used bikes when they buy new
ones.
Once the bikes are shipped overseas, they're sold at a reduced price
to residents (the individual country provides some form of funding
support once the bikes reach the country). The group says if someone
can't afford a bike even at the reduced price, they can either get
it on a "lend for hire" basis or work for it helping to
repair and maintain other bicycles at the local bike shop, thus acquiring
a useful skill.
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