Bicycle inventory – “Fix, don’t throw away”
Old, defective, and abandoned bicycles are a familiar sight in and around residence halls – but what happens with them? Our motto is “Fix, don’t throw away!” so the bikes are taken to self-help workshops, where old bikes are put in working condition on a full-time and voluntary basis, social added value included.
The aim
Raising awareness among students for less trash in and around our residential units
Time frame
Bicycle inventories are conducted as needed, up to twice a year. April and October are ideal as these are the months when the greatest number of residents can be expected in our residence halls.
Resources deployed
A bicycle inventory is announced by prominently posting notices near the entrances to the bike rooms in the respective residence hall.
Such a notice states that bicycles with stickers on them will be disposed of unless the owner removes them from Studentenwerk Dresden property within the specified time period.
Description
Bikes not removed by the owner by the stated deadline will be cleared by Studentenwerk Dresden facility managers and stored for a minimum of 3 months. When bikes are removed, locks that had to be removed too are paired with the bike they were taken from (e.g. using tape or cable ties). This allows a resident to prove their ownership if they retrieve the bike within the storage period.
After the deadline, the bikes are usually offered to non-profit organizations for recycling. Unserviceable individual parts are scrapped.