Recycled cycles used to create cheap haulage carrier
A ‘pedal powered tractor’ complete with trailer will enable Wynstones School in Whaddon near Gloucester, to carry loads across their four acre site.
This new creation has been made from old bikes, which were taken from the Household Recycling Centre at Hempsted in Gloucester. Two bikes side by side, which have been welded together, will tow a trailer with an estimated hauling capacity of 300kg.
Ianto Doyle, Facilities Manager at Wynstones School, said: “The project came about because our ride on mower, which we used extensively for towing loads in trailers, broke down and became uneconomical to repair. We wanted a sustainable, cheap, low tech, non-polluting, quiet, zero-carbon alternative. This greener form of transport has an increasingly important role to play, particularly when fuel prices are on the up. We are very grateful to Gloucestershire County Council and May Gurney, who run the Household Recycling Centre at Hempsted in Gloucester, for providing five bikes from the waste site”.
On a day-to-day basis the new tractor unit will help transport a number of items including desks and various tools. The unit will also prove very beneficial when preparing for major events within the school grounds, such as the Christmas market and Summer fair.
"We are delighted to have been able to support this innovative project,” said Steve Longdon, General Manager of May Gurney's Waste Services business. "It is an excellent example of how discarded but valuable resources can be reused to deliver a low cost, practical and environmentally sustainable solution to a real problem".