WATERLOO, Wis. (BRAIN) — Trek Bicycle today announced it joined the industry's U.S. e-bike battery recycling program that officially began last month.
The industry joined with nonprofit battery collection and recycling company Call2Recycle. Endorsed by PeopleForBikes, Call2Recycle administers training, recycling kits, battery transportation, safety materials, and rider education to retailers.
Trek is part of several industry manufacturers and suppliers supporting and funding the safe collection and recycling of lithium-ion e-bike batteries to help reduce overall recycling costs. All directly owned Trek stores are collection sites, and other Trek retailers are signing up and training to be collection sites, a Trek spokesperson told BRAIN.
More than 20 PeopleForBikes member companies created a sustainability task force and an e-bike committee to design the industry e-bike recycling program in collaboration with Call2Recycle.
"Watching the explosive growth of e-bikes over the past few years has been exciting, but at Trek we recognize that we leave behind a footprint, so we're taking action for betterment of our planet," said Eric Bjorling, Trek director of brand. "We are dedicated to doing business in the most sustainable way possible, and that commitment doesn't end once our bikes leave the store. We are proud to join this e-bike battery recycling effort and offer consumers a way to responsibly dispose of their e-bike batteries."
Trek first shared a mission to reduce its carbon footprint in its 2021 Sustainability Report.
PeopleForBikes announced the recycling program on Nov. 3, with at the time about 20 industry suppliers and manufacturers supporting and funding the collection and recycling of lithium-ion e-bike batteries to help reduce overall recycling costs. Retailers began enrolling in the program in February to become collection sites.