Cycling and recycling - how the Netherlands puts old bikes to good use

Young Couple Cycling in Amsterdam, Holland

Young couple on bicycles in streets of Amsterdam, Holland. (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images) Credit: Tim Graham

In the Netherlands the bicycle is being used for more than just exercise – as a device to reduce the harmful impact that poverty and isolation can have on people’s health by using bikes to promote integration. A new project is being used to ease some of the stress by collecting old bicycles and giving them out to people who can’t afford to buy one.


In the Netherlands there are more bicycles than people.

It's a way of life that offers a cheap and convenient way to get around, which is what makes this mode of transport an obvious choice.

The ANWB, the Royal Dutch Touring Club, are asking people to donate their own two wheelers to help some of the 4000 asylum seekers arriving in the country every day to get on the cycle path to being part of Dutch society.

They say bikes can help not just your physical health, but also break down barriers and improve mental health too

But it's not just the new arrivals who need a helping hand.

As the cost of living crisis bites, more and more native Dutch families are struggling to afford even the basics.

For those who can't afford to buy bicycles, this scheme aims to ensure their children enjoy the same opportunities as others.

But not all the children here are from the Netherlands.

Jez runs the units in a deprived part of The Hague.

He says people come from countries where cycling is not as logical as it is here in the Netherlands.Meanwhile, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has apologised for the Netherlands' colonial past, acknowledging that it continues to have what he calls 'negative effects'.

He says for centuries under Dutch state authority, human dignity was violated in the most horrific way possible by slavery.

In the 21st century, the humble bike is becoming a symbol of changing times.

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