Why Bicycle

Why Bicycle?

Why do we use bicycles when trucks can carry so much more? There are many reasons why hauling by bicycle is beneficial. The city uses a 200-diesel-truck fleet for waste removal. The fumes and toxic particulate emissions from diesel trucks are the source of 60 to 90% of urban pollution. Fine particles in the air are a serious public health problem, a known cause of lung damage and premature death. Diesel exhaust is likely to cause cancer in humans, and contributes to smog, acid rain, and global climate change.

 In Philadelphia alone, the effects of diesel exhaust include about 3,000 cases of cancer over an average lifetime, asthma in 22% of city children, and 180 premature deaths and 20,000 days of missed work per year. Philadelphia has ranked in the 90-99^th percentile of worst counties in the US for carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, particulate emissions and ozone.

 Waste removal trucks are also very heavy fuel users, averaging just 2.8 miles per gallon, because of constant stops and starts. By recycling with us, more money stays in the local economy and subtracts from the $300 billion a year that the US spends on foreign oil. If we replace one diesel truck, we will save 8,900 to 12,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year. 

Using the Pedal Coop has the following effects:

• Cleaner Air
  
  • Diesel exhaust particles can cause or exacerbate many health problems, including asthma and other respiratory illnesses, and have been linked to cancer and premature death, (http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/trucks_and_buses/page.cfm?pageID=1212). While trucks use diesel fuel, the only pollution produced by a human-powered cargo vehicle is the carbon dioxide exhaled by the rider. 
    
• A Decrease Amount of Pavement Damage
  • Nearly all of the load-related damage to Philadelphia’s pavement is caused by trucks.  A vehicle weighing five tons causes over 100 times as much damage as a vehicle weighing one ton, (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/tswstudy/Vol3-Chapter5.pdf). Decreasing the number of truck traffic on residential streets lessens damage to the pavement, saving public funds in the process.
    

• Benefits for Local Farmers and CommunityGardens
  
  • The compost provided by the Pedal Cooperative will benefit the efforts of local farmers and community gardens.
• Lower levels of noise pollution
  
  • The lower numbers of trucks in residential neighborhoods will lower the levels of noise pollution.  The disposal methods utilized by The Pedal Cooperative produce noise only during the times when the recyclables are collected and disposed.
• More Efficient use of non reusable Energy
  
  • Trucks are most efficient at transporting large quantities long distances.  Picking up residential trash requires many stops and starts. Every time a truck accelerates from a stop, it emits soot and smog-forming pollution. The Pedal Cooperative provides a clean, more efficient method for the transportation of recyclables/trash within Philadelphia.
• Improved Services
  
  • The Pedal Cooperative offers personalized and flexible service that can remove and transport recyclables/trash anywhere accessible by bicycle.
    

The Pedal Co-op is a volunteer-based and worker-run organization. The members do this work because they care about the environment, our neighborhood, and our future – and they like the exercise! We like that just by riding our bikes we are keeping the air cleaner, the streets quieter, the landfills emptier and our community healthier. Our bikes and trailers also don’t cause damage to the pavement as large trucks do.