Wishbone Bike Recycled Edition is made from old carpet. Seriously. Wishbone Design Studio uses pre-loved, residential carpet. It’s collected from home-owners in the United States, shaved to remove the backing, and shredded. They then add glass fibre for strength and turns it into millions of little resin pellets, ready for molding into a bike frame. This bike is reinventing how children learn to ride a bike and helping the earth, one recycled bike at a time.
What is really amazing is that it is highly adjustable and grows with a child. It easily converts from a tricycle to small bike to a bigger bike.
Comments
3 responses to “Children’s Bike Made from 100% Recycled Carpet”
I was asked to comment on this article, so, here:
The concept of recycling isn’t new. My first experience recycling was newspapers when I was in Beaver Scouts. Since, there are many new opportunities to reuse an old product for a new product.
Recycling makes sense, depending on the result.
When we consider recycling, we must consider the material we use. My easiest example is composting; recycling organic matter. Food scraps recycled into soil. This concept, for many, is easy to understand. We also understand the benefits of enriching soil, the microbes and critters.
Is all recycling created equally?
When we consider recycling plastics, we must consider process and material properties. Recycling plastic isn’t new, but, it has grown in volume enabling a market for these plastic products. Plastic is also a biologically toxic.
Yes, I have issues with plastic. One must critically analyse this material, how it is used, and its lifecycle. In some applications, recycled plastic might be a good choice. The reality is that plastic is a biologically toxic material for people, especially children. Another problem with recycled plastic is possible contamination of even more toxic materials, heavy metals, etc.
Is it safer to use new or recycled plastic? Is plastic the smartest and safest choice for children’s toys? Plastic contains hormone altering chemicals. Chemicals that are not natural in children’s biology during development. Is plastic healthy or unhealthy? Well, research is showing it isn’t.
In the past, I have designed plastic injection molding factories. Millions of parts per year. Flick the switch and go. Aside from the pollution of plastic, the manufacturing process for plastic is also energy intensive and toxic. Poisonous fumes, wasted heat energy, polluted water. It adds up. These machines can use new plastic or recycled plastic.
By supporting recycled plastic, you are supporting new plastic. The reality, as well, is that even recycled plastic can’t be recycled because of contamination. As such, many items made of plastic eventually end up in a landfill, even recycled ones.
Also, as a design material, plastic degrades and sheds micro-plastic which pollutes our water. Over time it looses its mechanical properties through off-gassing, UV light or mechanical embrittlement. Plastic breaks.
The idea of this modular design bike that adapts to a growing child is a good idea. I like this design, just not the material. If this were made from another material, it would be a much shorter, and I would endorse it more.
Enjoy!
Hi Graham,
Some food for thought there. But I feel that saving the carpet from the landfill for the time being rather than create NEW plastic for these bikes, is a step in the right direction.
Wow, that’s such a cute & cool idea! A Recyclable recylable! Clever stuff.