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The bicycle is the greener means of transport. It is comfortable and clean and we have often talked about the many benefits it brings. However, its manufacture is not so much when using processes that damage the environment, using chemical materials or minerals such as iron.
The good news is that there are already companies and firms that manufacture them from recycled materials: for example, plastic bottles. If you want to know more about these bicycles made from plastic bottles, keep reading this Green Ecology article.
The most sustainable bicycle in the world
Among all these companies, we highlight the production company that has been classified as "The most ecological bicycle in the world" and it constitutes a complete revolution in recent times, due to the positive nature of its idea.
It's bicycles Muzzicycles, which are born from a factory established in Brazil, which recently made a niche in the field of sustainability with the frames of their bicycles made from plastic bottles. Each of these devices is manufactured from more than 200 recycled PET bottles.
Its ecological manufacturing process
What its inventor, the Uruguayan artist Juan Carlos Calabrese Muzzi, has proposed, hence the name of the product, is to rescue recycled PET from many plastic bottles to create a new material, suitable for manufacturing bicycle frames. To do this, these bottles are chopped, then crushed and finally hardened to obtain the paste that will make the manufacture of bicycles a much more sustainable process. What's more, eliminates the welding process, which makes production cheaper and these bikes will one day cost the consumer cheaper.
Bicycles also reduce the carbon footprint, avoiding the use of minerals such as iron. Another of its advantages in its manufacture is that do not need paint, since the color is achieved by injecting it into the same plastic, eliminating the subsequent paint.
Advantages for the buyer
It is one of the great eco-inventions of recent years. In addition, Muzzi bikes have great advantages for the person who owns them:
- Do not rust: being made of plastic.
- Weigh less: allowing the driver to carry them more easily;
- The bottles are collected through NGO: therefore, in addition to being sustainable, they have a solidarity objective and, in addition, they are more resistant to shocks.
They are designed for urban use, as their design is aerodynamic and modern, but they are also very practical for day-to-day use.
In addition, these bikes are sold with a casual and modern look that has already managed to capture the attention of many. They advertise themselves under the slogan of "an ecologically correct urban bicycle", and already many consumers visit their website and ask how they can get one of them.
Savings in oil and carbon dioxide
In the construction of these bicycles, according to the data provided by the company itself, the objective is to save a million kilograms of oil to the environment and save 6 million CO2 by eliminating the incineration process. Currently, 130,000 bicycle frames have already been built using this method. From this company, they are currently working on improvements that make these devices even more ecological, since the saddle, brakes, wheels and other components still constitute damage to the environment in their manufacture, although the frame is totally sustainable in comparison to traditional steel frames.
The main advantages, in the long term, of the commercialization of this project are:
- Achieve to minimize the effects on the environment by the manufacture of bicycles.
- Promote the recycling of bottles made with PET.
- If they can be sold much cheaper, it will also encourage the purchase and use of bicycles, a very sustainable form of transport.
Only through your website
At the moment, Muzzicycles can only be purchased via Internet. One without changes costs about 330 dollars (290 euros) and if we want a more sophisticated one, with many gears and more alternatives, we would be talking about 1,110 dollars (thousand euros) Currently, the Brazilian factory can produce about 15,000 bicycles per month, but it is trying to get manufacturing to 60,000 eco-bikes soon.
The Uruguayan creative artist worked for twelve years on this project, investing in it his own money (more than 3 million dollars) and, finally, he has managed to get it commercialized. Juan Muzzi claims to have the patent for the first recycled plastic frame in the world. It also ensures that your bikes they are more resistant, flexible and lower cost.
The product became popular after presentations at fairs and especially since the artist donated 220 bicycles to young people with problems, who already enjoy their ecological machines.
Despite the low manufacturing cost, the product is still expensive because there is only one factory in Brazil. The objective is to obtain subsidies and carry out programs so that this cost is reduced and bicycles can reach most countries, minimizing transportation costs. The inventor also ensures that there will be a discount on the final price if the buyer brings his recycled bottles. A beautiful initiative that, although it does not yet have immediate effects, could turn out to be a complete revolution in the world of ecology.
If you want to read more articles similar to Bicycles made from plastic bottles, we recommend that you enter our Recycling and waste management category.
