Personally, I think the biggest step the industry would need is Shimano and SRAM to eliminate plastic from their packing material. They supply drivetrains for most bikes, and will make the largest single difference. Imagine all Shimano components that come in those clear bags that CRC customers and OEMs receive. Calculating the amount of waste from that particular subset is mind-boggling, and that doesn't include the plastic bags in the retail packaging.
The second step is SRAM to eliminate the SX rear derailleur all together, as an injection-molded plastic 12 speed clutch derailleur will always be a bad idea. Its intentional use of plastic as a form of planned obsolescence (particularly in the cycling industry) in such a vital component symbolically perpetuates a "throwaway" society and may encourage smaller manufacturers of this vile philosophy.
Calculating the amount ofplastic used per bicycle for packaging, and finding cardboard alternatives would be interesting. Santa Cruz packages bikes in a very unique way I'd personally like to see other companies to emulate, which is far more cardboard-intensive than the usual "front wheel on the NDS and foam bits in between and around". I've seen some interesting cardboard jointed structures in their recent Heckler packaging that helps diffuse the energy and avoids the usage of foam.
May 23, 2021, 11:25 p.m. - cornedbeef
Personally, I think the biggest step the industry would need is Shimano and SRAM to eliminate plastic from their packing material. They supply drivetrains for most bikes, and will make the largest single difference. Imagine all Shimano components that come in those clear bags that CRC customers and OEMs receive. Calculating the amount of waste from that particular subset is mind-boggling, and that doesn't include the plastic bags in the retail packaging. The second step is SRAM to eliminate the SX rear derailleur all together, as an injection-molded plastic 12 speed clutch derailleur will always be a bad idea. Its intentional use of plastic as a form of planned obsolescence (particularly in the cycling industry) in such a vital component symbolically perpetuates a "throwaway" society and may encourage smaller manufacturers of this vile philosophy. Calculating the amount ofplastic used per bicycle for packaging, and finding cardboard alternatives would be interesting. Santa Cruz packages bikes in a very unique way I'd personally like to see other companies to emulate, which is far more cardboard-intensive than the usual "front wheel on the NDS and foam bits in between and around". I've seen some interesting cardboard jointed structures in their recent Heckler packaging that helps diffuse the energy and avoids the usage of foam.