Unwanted bicycles are being collected, rebuilt and traded back into the Clutha community by a new team who met at Balclutha’s Mt Cooee last Friday to pick over the landfill’s collection of bikes.
"We pull them off the pile to be sorted one by one, stripped, scrapped or salvaged," Garth Hassall, of Dunedin-based Southern Youth Development (SYD), said.
"Whatever’s salvageable, we’re taking back to the new premises in Milton to be refurbished into safe, working transport and returned to the community for a koha."
The project is a collaboration between SYD , Project Bruce, volunteers, and the Clutha District Council which supplied about $11,000 in seed funding.
"We’ve entered a pretty austere time, but council was determined to fund this project from the [long-term plan] because it has so many positive aspects," council community and facility operations manager Kelly Gay said.
"It’s building activity and infrastructure around the region’s cycle trails, encouraging fitness out in nature through environmentally friendly transport, encouraging creative connections in the community and reducing landfill," Ms Gay said.
Mt Cooee landfill manager Leslie Van Der Hilst pointed to Balclutha’s neighbouring new mountainbike park as evidence the initiative was timely.
"It’s 100% excellent — probably something we should have been doing a long time ago but it’s here now and it’s definitely the way of the future," he said
A stone’s throw from the Clutha Gold Cycle trail, the historic Scout hall in Elderlee St, Milton is now set up as the project hub and workshop for technicians and volunteers.
"It’ll be an opportunity for anybody — young people especially — to practise real-world skills with tools and mechanical parts while they hang out together and do some good for the community and the planet," Milton volunteer Joel Crook said.
Project Bruce community development worker Kim Schiller was excited about the prospect of affordable bikes being available to every income level of the community.
"We’re very grateful to Southern Youth Development, council and local contractors for getting us up and running at the Scout hall.
"We’re yet to work out timings and workshop hours but volunteering will be about bringing old bikes back to the workshop and rebuilding and everybody interested in helping out can contact us at Project Bruce ... I’m sure when we’ve got everything on track and excited people working together, somebody will think of a fantastic name."
