Example – markets for bicycles in Mozambique

Generic product activity or name
Bicycle

Synonyms
Bike, recycled bicycle

Context and background
Bicycles collected as lost property in Denmark are today disposed of as scrap metal and recycled by re-melting. Baisikeli ApS instead sends bikes to Mozambique where they are made ready for sale and sold locally. Thereby the bikes replace less durable new bikes, mainly manufactured in India. The purpose of the LCA (climate footprint) is to assess CO₂ savings by recycling bikes in Mozambique relative to re-melt them in Europe.

Photo:  The baisikeli office, cafe and bicycle rental in Copenhagen.

Presentation of example
While the market for bicycles is global (as illustrated by the fact that the most typical bikes in Mozambique are produced in Asia, more specifically India), the very specific recycled bikes studied here are only sold in Mozambique, so the substitution will take place there.

Information sources used
Information concerning the bicycle market in Mozambique was obtained from Baisikeli ApS (pers. comm.) and Baisikeli annual accounts 2012.

References
Weidema B P (2013). Klima-fodaftryk for genbrug af hittegodscykler – Carbon footprint for Baisikeli’s genbrugsprojekt i Mozambique. 2.‑0 LCA consultants, Aalborg, Denmark. http://lca-net.com/p/456

Author of this example
Bo Weidema

Date
2013-12-26 

How to reference this
Weidema B P (2014), Example –geographical markets for bicycles. Version: 2013-12-26 www.consequential-lca.org