Bike recycling program taking off in Summerside
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SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — He moved across the stand-mounted bicycle with practised ease.
Oiling a chunk right here.
Tightening a bit there.
That half was okay.
The opposite was rubbish and wanted alternative.
Peter Collins is an outdated hand at bike restore at this level. He has been doing it professionally for 10 years.
However for so long as he has been paid for his abilities, he has additionally been donating them without spending a dime. And he’s doing so once more in his new P.E.I. group.
Collins has teamed up with Streets Are For Everybody (SAFE) Summerside and The Free Retailer to gather, restore and donate bicycles into the arms of people that want them most.
“After I noticed (SAFE Summerside) on the Santa Claus Parade, I actually stepped out onto the road and mentioned, ‘My individuals!,’” laughed Collins, describing how he first turned conscious of the native lively transportation advocacy group.
He and his spouse, Brianna Rideout, moved to P.E.I. in November 2022 from Mississauga, Ont., searching for a greater high quality of life.
Collins is working in direction of beginning his personal bike restore enterprise, however within the meantime, he’s attempting to maintain his abilities sharp by volunteering with SAFE Summerside.
He has turned his Ellerslie-Bideford house’s shed right into a workshop and has been saved busy by a gentle stream of donations coming in since phrase began to get round that he was taking used bike donations. To this point, about 27 bicycles have discovered new homeowners by way of the initiative.
“As quickly as individuals round right here hear what we’re doing, it’s one thing that everyone appears to get actually enthusiastic about. So, I’ve really had fairly just a few bikes simply dropped off. There has even been some individuals who have dropped off piles of elements,” he mentioned.
The bikes which were donated range from what he calls the “$150 Canadian Tire particular” to fashions that have been as soon as top-of-the-line and value a number of thousand {dollars} new.
Any bike that appears prefer it has an opportunity of being rehabilitated is welcome as a donation. Even when it can’t be repaired, it may be stripped of beneficial elements. Relying on how outdated the model is, some parts could possibly be out of manufacturing so Collins likes to squirrel away bits and items that could be useful on later tasks.
Donations could be made to the Free Retailer throughout its weekly Tuesday drop-off window from 3:30 to six:30 p.m., or at 33118 Western Rd.
Ken Trenholm, a spokesperson for SAFE Summerside, mentioned assembly Collins has been a stroke of luck for the group.
Organizing a used bike distribution program has been one thing Trenholm has needed to do for years, however the items to make it occur by no means appeared to align correctly.
Getting Collins concerned was the lacking hyperlink.
“What Peter is bringing to the group is simply wonderful,” mentioned Trenholm.
Many Island households have a motorcycle or two amassing mud in retailers or garages, so the donation program not solely helps of us declutter and divert helpful gadgets from landfills, nevertheless it additionally helps individuals with transportation which, within the fashionable world, is a necessity, he added.
He encourages anybody with a surplus bike to contemplate donating it earlier than junking it.
“It offers individuals such a real sense of having the ability to assist. That’s the important thing. If all of us have that mindset the place we need to assist individuals then town, the Island and the world might be that a lot of a greater place,” mentioned Kenholm.
That concept of wanting to assist can be an enormous a part of why Collins is doing the work he does.
He was homeschooled till highschool and generally had bother making mates after making the swap. Moving into bikes helped him come out of his shell and meet new individuals.
“I used to be type of a quiet loner. As soon as I bought on a motorcycle and began hanging on the dust jumps, and the skate parks with different individuals – I bought to really feel like one of many cool youngsters,” he mentioned. “And I need to give that to different individuals.”
Colin MacLean is a reporter with SaltWire in Prince Edward Island. He could be reached by electronic mail at [email protected] and adopted on Twitter @JournalPMacLean.
