What Happens to Abandoned Bike Parts?

We are shocked by the lengths to which so-called “piranha” thieves will go to steal locked bike parts but with so many empty frames left littering London’s streets whose responsibility is it to dispose of them responsibly? Bikes stripped of parts and forgotten are one thing but what about bikes dumped in the canal or locked at a station for a year? Valuable components are wasted in those situations but the right attitude could see them used again.

Who removes a bike and when?

Leslie Sayer picks up the pieces for Barnet Council. “I only remove bike frames when a member of public complains to the council that they are dangerous,” he says. “I’m so frustrated when I see this happen. I remember clearly one day when a bloke parked a bike up, locked it and walked away. Three weeks later the bike was starting to be stripped.”

Sayer said he does not know what happens to parts that are collected in good condition. “If they are damaged mostly they just go into the truck and get tipped at Brent Cross waste transfer station.” Each authority has its own policies and makes different judgments about which bike parts are still usable, and there is no doubt that many frames are sent for scrap while still having components that could be salvaged.

This system is clearly wasteful but the priority for councils is their duty of care to people who want to see pillaged frames taken off the streets. What we need is a community-driven process for reclaiming and reusing bike parts in a way that is both efficient and legal.

Southwark Council has a very active system according to Southwarkcyclists.org.uk. Reported bikes are given a four-week written notice before being removed and held for another month. They are then transferred to a company called Nip Nip “who run a program with St. Mungo’s Skills and Employment Centre whereby homeless people are trained to repair the cycles. They are then sold which provides funding for the program.”

What should happen to bike parts?

Lawrence Mohammed is the founder and head mechanic of Pro Bike Service, a workshop in a shipping container at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. He believes in using a “gift economy” of second-hand parts which will soon include “upcycling” workshops and corporate team-building days.

We asked Mohammed just who should be responsible for the removal of bike parts left on our streets. “I feel that perhaps councils or the police are best placed to make these decisions,” he said. “The local community must nevertheless play a role in making the councils and police aware of bikes that are abandoned. Some of our community users prefer to purchase second-hand parts rather than new stock (we keep a small range of both). We will also be offering workshops for those wishing to make sale goods from ‘waste’, whether these are belts made from old tyres, bottle openers made from rims and chain rings or jewellery made from inner tubes and bicycle chains.”

How does the workshop avoid handling stolen goods? “We record the frame number of every bike that comes into the workshop, as well as the contact details of the person bringing it in.  We will never knowingly handle stolen goods and if we notice anything suspicious, we will report this to our local police.”

Bike Repair in the Community

Does this show that there is a growing urban cycling community that could benefit from donated parts and help to salvage them? Alexandra Davis works for the bike cafe and workshop “Look mum, no hands” in Old Street.

“We are first and foremost a good cafe,” she told Felix Magazine. “The three owners ride bikes. That’s how they met and that’s why they decided to combine this passion alongside good coffee, food and beer.”

This type of community bike culture could be the solution for the councils that are stuck with abandoned bikes and for the victims of theft who are losing their bike parts. “Our workshop situated in the cafe deals with all types of bikes day and night. It’s open plan, so the mechanics aren’t hidden away. They’re always happy to chat and help anyone who asks. We have loaner locks and pumps in our yard.”

This combines the “gift economy” of Mohammed’s scheme with the sharing of materials, labour and workspace, that is part of the Millennial culture of rental over ownership. You don’t need your own pump so could this be expanded to include recycled spare parts? Maybe helping with retrieving and dismantling old parts from abandoned bikes could be rewarded with a discount on buying or borrowing items that you need for your own bike. That would allow cyclists to benefit from the junk left by other cyclists rather than burdening councils. With this community of cyclists and the other regulars of a good cafe perhaps the currency could expand to disposing of bikes in return for food and drink discounts?

These two workshops demonstrate the inclusive and engaged community around bikes and cyclists in local areas. If more councils could combine their removal and disposal obligations with these workshops’ enthusiasm and need for parts then there just might be a cheap and waste-free solution to the menace of the piranha bike-part thieves..

by Stewart Vickers @VickHellfire

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