Buckinghamshire Council, its waste and recycling partner FCC Environment and much loved local hospice charity South Bucks Hospice are celebrating a successful partnership with HM Prison Aylesbury.
HMP Aylesbury took its first steps into bicycle recycling back in 2016 and since that time it has gone from strength to strength. In partnership with Buckinghamshire Council and South Bucks Hospice, this year alone the scheme has seen:
- 260 bikes refurbished including 145 adult & 115 child cycles
- This represents a total weight a 3.46 tonnes
- With the bikes being sold at a value of £18,140 with proceeds going towards end of life and palliative care in Buckinghamshire.
The scheme has been running for over ten years with the aim of reducing the volume of waste going for disposal, bringing items with life left in them back into productive use and in doing so, up-skill prisoners and generate vital funds for charity. The bikes are gathered from all of the recycling centres across Buckinghamshire from where they are brought into the specially designed prison workshop with those repairable being upcycled and unsuitable bikes being used for parts. At present, one load of bikes going into the prison every two weeks. And with the addition of a new machine to use in the prison to help clean the bikes, the inmates can fix ever more bikes on site.
When it comes to buying the excellently upcycled bikes, there are always new deliveries and a good selection for sale at the South Bucks Hospice reuse shops at both the Aston Clinton and High Wycombe recycling centres.
Mimi Harker OBE, Chairman Buckinghamshire Council & Patron of South Bucks Hospice said: “I could not be prouder to see so many partners in the Buckinghamshire community work together to benefit so many. A truly brilliant initiative.These bikes would make a wonderful Christmas gift without breaking the bank.”
Neil Hawes of HMP Aylesbury said: ‘I'm incredibly proud that we're still celebrating this initiative after 10 years. The partnership feels stronger than ever, and we've repaired more bikes than in recent years. The men working here take great pride in knowing that the bikes they fix go to such a meaningful cause. The skills they gain are invaluable, learning how to take something old and neglected and transform it into something that will be cherished by someone else.’
Addressing the prisoners who are involved in the scheme, Steve Longdon, CEO, FCC Environment said: “I am delighted to be here today to meet you all and see for myself the great work that you are all doing in upcycling these bikes, this is an initiative we at FCC are really proud of. Reducing waste by reusing items that have life left in them is a really important contribution to society and the importance of this scheme in not only tackling the issue of waste and providing you with a skill you can use, but also helping to generate funds for South Bucks Hospice and their incredible work with people at the end of their life is vital. So my thanks go to each of you for your enthusiasm and commitment to this project. Its been great to meet you all today.”
