Trek Bicycle has announced that it has recycled over 700,000 pounds of carbon fiber, a material used to make high-end bikes, as well as other purposes, since launching a pilot program last year.
The Waterloo, Wisconsin-based bicycle manufacturer launched the pilot program seeking to collect scrap carbon fiber used in its bike frames for recycling. The lightweight and strong material is used by the aerospace industry as well as by bicycle manufacturers. It was previously thought to be unrecyclable, and the initiative by Trek was one of the first forays into recycling the material. Bike maker Specialized also launched a similar initiative last year.
As part of the project, Trek worked with Materials Innovation Technologies LLC and its subsidiary MIT-RCF, which processed the material at its South Carolina facility. Since last year, Trek has sent all of its carbon fiber manufacturing scraps, non-compliant components and reclaimed frames to MIT for repurposing in reinforced thermoplastic applications, such as aerospace, automotive, medical and recreational purposes.