[TheThinkTank] Disposing of used simple green

[Chris Wells]

I posed your question below to our current supplier of grease (an
eco-minded distributor that sought us out and started sending us
supplies, got to like that :-) Here are some of his thoughts:

    "The environmental damage done by bicycles and bike shops are a
very small drop in a bucket compared to a clean truck or construction
shop. I might add these guys in particular the construction companies
have done enormous leaps and bounds of improvement since I started
selling grease in 1988.  Construction guys used to dig a hole drive the
machine over and drain the engine oil in it add the filter and dirty
rags and bury it.  Now they get excited about fixing hydraulic oil
leaks. The trucks have reduced smoke to the point of not seeing hardly
any of it.

    My idea on the whole bike thing is to make it as inviting and easy
as possible for people to use bicycles.   Every time someone is riding 
a bicycle for any reason they are not using a gasoline engine.

    The VIP grease I sell does not wash off (I have a sample stuck to
the bottom of my boat for two years now).  It gets used on the chains,
derailers and bearings in a bike.  The superior performance makes the
ride, shift etc much better and more inviting. Keeps the derailers
working better even if not use often.  The grease stays in the bearings
a lot longer (forever in a bike) and provide easy peddling and
coasting.  The chains do not rust and perform better providing better
shifting and no rust keeps up a better appearance.  If more people ride
more often and longer because of this I feel I have done my part for
the environment.

    Using biodegradable greases etc, you will find they wash off, do 
not lubricate well and reduce the performance of the bike and make it
less inviting to the rider."

Chris

--- durham bike collective <durham_bikes at yahoo.com> wrote:

> As far as being green, non-toxic, biodegradable etc. wherever
> possible: is there any collective wisdom out there on a
> non-petrolium, non super-yukko lube (and grease, for that matter)?
> The Durham Bike Co-op's just gotten off the ground, so we've used
> what's on hand mostly (tri-flow, park polylube), but tri-flow smells
> something awful and I'm not thrilled about putting it into the
> environment at all ... looking around the internet there seems to be
> some things out there (pedro's has something out that's supposed to
> be biodegradable, also a bunch of vegetable-based lubes designed for
> heavier applications like chainsaws...) Anyone out there have some
> positive experiences / knowledge to share?
>  
> peace,
> Colin.
> 
> Nathan Pierce <natnc17 at yahoo.com> wrote: good point about getting
> peeps out of cars. If all the
> people in cars rode bikes, then we spilled all the
> used simple green from cleaning all the more bikes, it
> would still be less pollution than all the cars were
> previously making.


Chris Wells
(Head Mechanic & Email Handler)

re-Cycles Bicycle Co-op
112 Nelson St. Ottawa

Open 6pm-10pm Tuesdays, Wednesday & Thursdays

info at re-cycles.ca
http://www.re-cycles.ca/