The Recyclery is set to mark its grand opening in its new home on Saturday, 3 May. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
The Recyclery’s new purpose-built facility in Harrison, which opened for a sneak peek in February, is now complete and ready to celebrate its grand reopening.
An initiative of the Canberra Environment Centre, The Recyclery is run by volunteers and provides tools and advice from an experienced bike mechanic. It also restores and sells secondhand bikes.
Manager Geordie Ferguson said the project was inspired by a simple idea: giving riders the skills to repair their own bikes.
“[The repair shed] gives people a place to come and fix their bikes themselves [and] have access to the tools to do it,” he said.
“It empowers people, basically, to be more comfortable fixing their own bikes.”
The initiative operated out of a tin shed for several years after swapping its ANU location for the Gungaderra Homestead in Harrison. But it was a tight fit.
“We’ve essentially been working outside, which can kind of work. But if the weather’s bad, it’s not so great!” Geordie said.
The Recyclery ran a crowdfunding campaign to fit out the shed with new flooring, new work benches and equipment – and more space for volunteers and program participants.
Geordie said community support was “instrumental in making it happen”.
“There is a lot of goodwill from the community … I’ve worked in small businesses myself and I’m aware you don’t usually get that level of goodwill,” he said.
“Absolutely everyone had great things to say about it and was very grateful we existed.”
The Recyclery sells high-quality refurbished bicycles. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
He said the upgraded space meant the group could work on a bigger scale.
“We’re going to start offering workshops that allow us to go into a bit more detail with the mechanical stuff,” he said.
“Usually when people drop in and want their bikes fixed, it’s fairly basic repairs [such as] patching tyres, adjusting gears or changing chains.
“With this expanded program, we will be offering in-depth mechanic workshops.”
He said the group also planned to offer more community events, bring on new members and give hands-on experience to enable riders to strip down and rebuild a bike themselves.
Geordie said bike mechanics would be on hand to help.
“It’s a lot more doable than you think,” he said.
“If you come along to our bike shed, we can help and give you the skills to do basic maintenance.”
As The Recyclery team gears up to start life in its new home, you’re invited to a grand opening on Saturday, 3 May.
“It’s great to be able to open to the public with an open day on Saturday [where we] put on a show, show everyone where we’re at and what kind of space and facilities these donations have enabled us to provide.”
The Recyclery bike shed is located at The Canberra Environment Centre, Gungaderra Homestead, Otway Street, Harrison. It is open Tuesday to Thursday, 12 pm to 3 pm.
The grand opening on 3 May runs from 9:30 am to 12 pm.
