1. UK Registered Charity

2. The challenges Re~Cycle addresses

3. 5,000 miles
4,500 miles

4. Africa area Distances in Africa are enormous:
Africa has about one-fifth of all the land on Earth
Africa is so big, you could fit China, India, the USA,
Argentina, and entire continent of Europe inside it
UK is 244,820 sq km; Africa is 30,065,000 sq km;
123 times bigger
But Africa’s population is only 17 times that of the
UK: it is home to just under one billion people

5. In Africa, poor women and children have no transport
In Africa, poor women and children have no transport. This cuts them off from food, water, healthcare, school and economic opportunities.

6. Africans typically spend around four hours every day walking – to carry food, fuel, goods and water, or to get to their field, school or job

7. In Africa, most materials are moved by human power alone – there aren’t even many horses or oxen to help.

8. Where motor transport is at all available in rural Africa, it typically costs around one-fourth of a passenger’s daily income to use it

9. Meanwhile, across the Western world, there are tens of millions of abandoned or unused bikes.

10. Africa area A solution to transport in Africa:
Deliver unwanted bicycles from the ‘developed
world’ to Africa, along with spare parts and tools, and teach local people there to refurbish and maintain the bikes
Why bicycles in Africa are better than walking:
- Bicyclists can cover four times more ground than
walkers in the same amount of time
- Bicyclists can carry five times more load in weight
- The time and energy saved can be used more
productively – on the farm, at home and at school

11. The Re~Cycle process:
- Donating
Compacting
Stripping
Loading
Shipping
Distributing
Maintaining
Training

12. Donating
People donate unwanted bicycles, bike parts and tools to Re~Cycle. We also receive donations of money (including Trusts and Foundations) and donations of time from volunteers.

13. Compacting
Volunteers help prepare the bikes for shipping by removing the pedals and attaching them to the frame, turning the handlebars sideways and removing the front wheel and attaching it to the central frame of the bike to compact them to fit more in each container.

14. Stripping
Volunteers also remove any good parts from unsalvageable bikes, so that they can be used as spare parts for the bikes sent to Africa

15. 500 or more good and reconditioned bikes go into a 40-foot shipping
container; many spare parts and tools fit underneath and in the gaps
The bicycles are packed into the container extremely tightly in order to maximise the return on the substantial cost of container shipping

16. Shipping
Carried by sea (for minimal environmental and carbon impact), the bikes and spare parts go to our African partners

17. Distributing
Bikes are distributed by African partners, who are non-profits working with the society’s poorest; they also build skills in bicycle maintenance

18. Spare parts rescued from unsalvageable UK bikes extend the life of shipped bikes and mend bikes already there, many in poor condition

19. Maintaining
Most African partners set up bicycle maintenance centres as both
training facilities and places where recipients bring bikes for repair
Re~Cycle’s African partners maintain the bikes; this is critical to ensuring that bikes last for years, and helps keep running costs low

20. Training
Re~Cycle’s African partners also train people in bike maintenance, giving them valuable skills and employment opportunities.

21. The impacts on poor people in Africa
- Getting young people to school
- Transport for outreach workers
- Ambulance for the sick
- Load carrying
- Economic opportunity
- Empowerment of women

22. Getting young people to school
In Africa, school can be up to 10 miles away from home. Walking, pupils are exhausted or don’t turn up. Bicycles make it easier for children to get to school more regularly.

23. Getting young people to school
Re~Cycle’s work enables young girls to get an education. This will help to lift them, their families and community out of poverty.

24. Transport for outreach workers
With Re~Cycle bikes, outreach workers can extend their impact, like this malaria clinic nurse delivering mosquito nets and drugs

25. Load carrying
Re~Cycle bicycles are effectively very-low-maintenance ‘beasts of burden’ for carrying economic goods and material necessities

26. Access to clean water is often a struggle in Africa
Access to clean water is often a struggle in Africa. Re~Cycle bikes carry 5 times more water, 4 times further, than is possible by hand.

27. Economic opportunity
Re~Cycle bikes can help skilled workers transport themselves and their tools to their workplaces, and their goods to the marketplace

28. Re~Cycle bikes can themselves be the basis for small enterprises such as these ‘boda-boda’ taxi bikes (the green cushion is a seat)

29. Some women are trained as mechanics, which gives them an income and makes them a compelling role-model for young girls

30. What has Re~Cycle achieved so far, and what are its plans?

31. Founded 18 years of Re-Cycling
Re~Cycle was founded in In 2016 we have:
Sent over 80,000 bikes shipped to Africa
Had a positive impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of poor people in several recipient sub-Saharan countries
Had a positive impact on the thousands of donors and volunteers in the source country, the UK
Achieved a sustainable operation, with new opportunities to scale up both collection volumes and locations
18 years of Re-Cycling

32. These 80,000 Re~Cycle bikes include many thousands of bikes from Royal Mail, which are highly prized in Africa for their strength and durability.

33. Would you help us?

34. Re~Cycle’s work has great positive impact per unit of cost.
Ways you can help
Re~Cycle’s work has great positive impact per unit of cost.
Please would you donate or sponsor?

35. Would you donate your bike to us?
Ways you can help
Re~Cycle bikes displace carbon-emitting transport with neutral carbon cost, with great benefit for the environment.
Would you donate your bike to us?

36. Ways you can help
Re~Cycle supports bike culture and sports in Africa for fun and keeping fit. Would you sponsor a bike event for us?

37. Ways you can help
Each shipping container from the UK to Africa costs between £2,000 and £8,000 depending on final destination. Shipping companies - would you donate services-in-kind?

38. Ways you can help
Nelson Mandela at the launch of Afribike, a partner that Re~Cycle helped to set up. Do you know African NGOs we can work with?

39. Thank you for helping

40. Contacting Re~Cycle: Re~Cycle
Unit 8 The Grove Estate, Colchester Road, Wormingford, Colchester, Essex CO6 4AJ
United Kingdom
+44 (0)
UK Registered Charity