California Bill Calls For Bike Recycling

According to local reports, Arcata Library Bikes of Arcata, Calif., helped to draft the legislation, which would set up a system similar to a bottle-redemption program. According to Arcata Library Bikes, a  $7 deposit would be added to the price of new bikes, and a California Redemption Value of $3.50 would be recouped when the end-of-life bikes are turned in. Only bikes purchased in California would be eligible for the program and would be designated by a sticker, similar to those on automobiles.

Arcata Library Bikes calls itself California’s largest bike re-use recycler. Donated bikes are rebuilt by volunteer mechanics and lent to area residents for $20 a piece, which is fully refunded once the bikes are returned. The loan period can be as long as six months, according to the organization’s Web site at www.arcata.com/greenbikes.

Under the proposed bill, Arcata Library Bikes would supervise the manufacture and distribution of CRV stickers, operation manuals and procedures and start-up material for bicycle reuse programs.

Cycles of Change in Oakland, Calif., and Trips for Kids in San Rafael, Calif., would provide curriculum, operations manuals and procedures for after school programs for children, which the bill stipulates should account for at least 10 percent of a ReCycle centers program.