Abstract
The bicycle industry, with a market size close to ¥200 billion, produces us all with a very convenient and clean means of transport. Regardless of their overall convenience of character, however, bicycles do create certain public nuisances when commuters leave them near stations each day, for example. This has forced many local governments to create laws that allow bicycles that are left unattended outside to be confiscated and impounded.
After bicycles are removed from stations and other locations, they are sold to recycling dealers or given over to industrial waste treatment companies. Over 70% of the bicycles that are disposed of are recycled at domestic treatment centers to extract the iron as a resource.
The shape and volume of the bicycles create difficulties in the recycling process, and in transportation once disposed of. A solution needs for creating a balance between liability and easy methods for cycle parts breakdown must be determined.
In the future, the public will demand a reconsideration and redefinition of the use of bicycles and their ultimate disposal.
