There are many benefits to swapping your car for a bike, electric bike, electric scooter or e-skateboard. Not just physical benefits but also environmental benefits, such as reduced pollution, construction and waste.
And as more people are moving towards using electric vehicles as transportation, it is important to keep in mind your responsibility for recycling, especially recycling of acid batteries from your e-ride in order to best preserve our planet and safely dispose of this hazardous good.
But before we go into how riding a bicycle can improve the environment, let's look at some of the issues our globe is currently facing due to transport and cars.
Transport Emissions in Australia
Did you know that transport is the third-largest source of greenhouse emissions in Australia, and that cars equal 46% of all transport emissions? According to Climate Council Australia, 17% of emissions emitted in 2017 came from vehicles and it is the highest growing source since 1990 (51% increase since 1990).
On 31 January 2021, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported there were 18.1 million light vehicles registered in Australia. And according to National Transport Commission, in 2020 each passenger cars and light SUVs emitted 149.5 grams per kilometre and heavy SUVs and light commercial vehicles emitted 216.7 grams per kilometre. This adds up to a lot of pollution each year and is why you should invest in a bike, electric bicycle, electric scooter or electric skateboard in order to help reduce these emissions.
4 environmental benefits of riding a bike
Reduction of emission and air pollution
Most people use their cars a couple of times per week – when going to and from work, when dropping off or picking up the kids from school or kindergarten, when getting your weekly grocery shopping, and so on. The number of times you use your car can be quite large.
By swapping out your car or motorbike for an electric ride you can help bring us closer to making our globe more eco-friendly.
As bicycles do not need fossil fuels to move forward it does not emit any greenhouse gases and will help reduce global fuel emission and consumption.
Cars don’t only pollute through gas and petrol consumption, they also use antifreeze and other chemicals that are bad for the environment.
This means that every time you make a conscious decision of taking your bike instead of your car, you're giving the planet a much-needed break, as well as cutting down on toxins being emitted.
Reduce noise pollution
You probably have not thought about this, but noise is a form of pollution. People that live in busy cities or suburbs are constantly subjected to a lot of noise coming from transportation vehicles.
By swapping to a bicycle or electric ride you not only help reduce greenhouse pollution but also help lower noise pollution as a bike is silent operated. Meaning you get happy neighbours and a quiter neighbourhood. It is a win-win.
Reduction in waste
As more people use bicycles to get around, there will be less demand for building, servicing and disposal of cars, which equals less waste.
Less road construction
A bicycle is much lighter than a car, meaning it conserves the roadways better. This leads to less demand for road maintenance and less construction. This will then preserve more plant life in urban areas.
If we continue getting more cars, this means we need to build more roads, while if we get more people to ride their bikes this means more bike lanes and paths which is much more sustainable.
Other benefits
There are other great benefits to riding a bicycle such as improved personal health. Riding improves your endurance, posture, balance and strength. Also, fresh air and physical activity help improve your mental health.
You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars every month on fuel when riding a bike or electric bike. They are low maintenance and if you need any repair, it is much cheaper than repairing a car!
No traffic jams and no problem finding a parking. Everywhere around the city, you can easily find a place to park your bike and it will be closer to wherever you need to go. In addition, you don’t have to deal with traffic congestion. Instead, you simply get to enjoy your everyday commute and pedal all the way to work without needing to stop and wait in traffic queues.
How to dispose of your electric bike battery in Australia
Like any other waste, batteries also need to be separated and disposed of properly to make the least amount of impact on our planet. Never dispose of your e-ride battery together with household rubbish as old and defective batteries can catch on fire as the battery voltage and fluid can cause a short circuit.
So, if you are riding an electric bike, electric scooter or electric skateboard and need to dispose of your battery you need to contact your specialist dealer or a battery disposal company to arrange a drop-off.
Did you know that only 2% of Australia's annual 3,300 tonnes of lithium-ion battery waste was recycled in 2020? And that the battery waste is growing by 20% per year and could exceed 100,000 tonnes by 2036? As more and more people are turning toward using electric vehicles as a form of transportation and as the demand for batteries increases, proper e-bike battery recycling will become very important.
According to Clean Up, 98% of a lead-acid battery can be recycled or used in other industries, so make sure you give it to your nearest drop-off centre or battery station point.
Where to find a battery recycling near me? You can check Century Yuasa website and add your location to find one in the map.
There you got it. 4 ways you can help the globe achieve environmental sustainability. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s start helping our planet heal.
References:
- https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/FactSheet-Transport.pdf
- https://www.ntc.gov.au/sites/default/files/assets/files/Carbon%20dioxide%20emissions%20intensity%20for%20new%20Australian%20light%20vehicles%202020.pdf
- https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/public/bicycle-riding/benefits-of-riding#:~:text=Environmental%20benefits&text=Bicycle%20riding%20uses%20minimal%20fossil,plant%20life%20in%20urban%20areas
- https://transportation.ucla.edu/blog/how-riding-bike-benefits-environment
- https://www.ntc.gov.au/transport-reform/light-vehicle-emissions