Council launches new Bike Reuse Scheme during first ever NI Repair Week
Mid Ulster District Council has introduced a new bike reuse scheme as part of the first ever Northern Ireland Repair Week which takes place from 3 – 9 March.
Northern Ireland is the first region in the UK to host Repair Week and it is an important step in raising awareness of repair and its role in keeping cherished and useful items in use for longer.
This initiative aims to encourage a repair and reuse culture throughout the region.
Each year hundreds of bikes are disposed of throughout Mid Ulster. While these bikes are currently recycled as scrap metal at the Council’s recycling centres, with a little work many of them could instead be repaired and reused.
To mark the first ever Repair Week here, the Council has partnered with East Belfast Mission to ensure that as many of these bikes as possible will now be repaired and returned to use, giving them a new lease of life and providing bikes to individuals at a fraction of the cost.
Chair of Mid Ulster District Council’s Environment Committee, Councillor Niall McAleer, launched the scheme alongside Eimear Montague of the Northern Ireland Reuse Network which champions repair and reuse and supports NI Repair Week.
Welcoming the scheme, Councillor McAleer said,
I’m delighted to launch this exciting new bike reuse scheme. Mid Ulster has long been among the top recycling Councils in the region, but we want to do even better, to reduce and reuse the waste we generate. This partnership, alongside the paint and uniform reuse schemes that the Council already runs, will help increase repair and reuse within Mid Ulster even further. Mid Ulster District Council is committed to sustainability and waste reduction and reuse will play a huge part in reducing all our carbon emissions going forward.
All suitable bikes deposited at the Council’s recycling centres will be collected by East Belfast Mission where they will then be repaired and returned to use.
East Belfast Mission has a proven track record in bike repair and reuse and already repair approximately 900 bikes each year for reuse and resale, with every bike going through a 30 point health check to make sure it is safe and fit for purpose.
For more information on the scheme, email: environmentalservices@midulstercouncil.org