Beyond Recycling Bicycles: Circular Economy Implications of Increasing Ebike Uptake in Ireland

Recent years have seen an upsurge in the micromobility sector. Ebikes are gaining ground to become viable alternatives to private car commuter transport and last-mile delivery in cities. An underrepresented environmental concern, particularly in European literature, is the end-of-life management of ebikes as ewaste. The current trend towards road transport electrification raises concerns regarding ambitions towards becoming a green and circular economy as well as meeting resource management targets. This paper addresses the material circularity of increasing ebike uptake. This is achieved through an examination of the ebike product lifecycle in Ireland through organisational qualitative research, an examination of the ebike market share, and a case study of ebike fleet management on a university campus. It argues that policy makers need to engage with the ebike retail and repair sector to address concerns they have regarding repairability of ebikes, quality, and insurance. Policies that encourage uptake of ebikes such as Cycle-to-Work schemes should facilitate the circular economy through innovative initiatives such as facilitation of resale of remanufactured, and refurbished ebikes and incentivising product longevity through repair vouchers. From this study it appears that basic mechanical features of ebikes are more likely to fail than ebike batteries. The exclusion of light means of transport such as ebikes from the Ecodesign Directive should be reconsidered given the quantities of ebikes placed on market and the need to address repairability in the sector. Island nations, such as Ireland, may need further enhancements and initiatives such as additive manufacturing to ensure timely repairs to ebikes, thereby extending product lifetimes and circularity.