Believe it or not, I have found two bicycle seats on the beach, washed ashore. Right now they are sitting in my yard, waiting for that special project (i.e., blog post) as to what to do with them. The easiest thing to do is to paint them and put a bird house on top and while cute, there must be something else. Sadly in my neighborhood, bikes are very easily ripped off and found abandoned on the streets and in the alleys. (For ideas on reusing Bicycles check out our Pinterest Board on Bike Reuse)
I Just Got To Eco Ya
- $5.8 billion, including retail sales of bicycles, related parts and accessories.
- $1.6 billion (estimated) in used bicycles were sold through bike shops, mass merchants, sporting good stores and other retailers, bringing the total size of the bicycle business to $7.5 billion.
- 16.2 Million (99%) Bicycles are imported in the the USA in 2013p. Primarily from China and Taiwan.
- 35.6 million Americans age seven and older were estimated to have ridden a bicycle six times or more in 2013, according to the National Sporting Goods Association.
- Bicycling is one of the strongest solutions for reducing our dependence on oil, reducing pollution, smog and noise, improving health as well as leading to a more sustainable lifestyle.
That said so how can you reuse the bicycle seat. First in line is donation if reusable or resales. 2nd option is take apart and recycle the coils, leather and stuffing with the appropriate waste management company. Or create some fun stuff as seen by the below artists.
1.) Canadian artist Clem Chen reused bike seats to create taxidermy sculptures.. Named “Bite It” and “Pink Eye”, the sculptures were made by attaching plastic-cast taxidermy molds onto the bicycle seats – (Source)
2.) Austrian designer Andreas Scheiger has created a series of hanging racks made from salvaged bicycles –
3.) There is always the lamp as seen on the Fancy.
4.) The Bicycle Seat Stool
These are some good ideas, but will have to think about it some more. I love the idea of the rack, but will have to way until some type of handlebars get washed ashore and then I can put the seat up as an outdoor towel hanger. Not a bad idea.
Sources