Donations

Please email pictures of potential donations to manager@thebikeshed.org.au before bringing them in. We have limited storage space and are not able to accept everything that is brought to us.

The Bike Shed relies on good quality donated bikes and bike parts. Our volunteers restore and repair bikes which are then sold at affordable prices to the public or donated to those in need.

Bikes that are beyond repair are scrapped for parts and/or recycled. We recycle around 10 tonnes of metal and 3 tonnes of rubber annually.

However, we are not a landfill site and should not be treated as such. We are a small, primarily volunteer-based, organisation and recycling bikes takes a lot of time and effort. We have limited storage space and dumping unsuitable items creates a mess and attracts thieves.

We cannot accept large quantities without being notified ahead of time and may only be able to accept part of what is being offered.

We are incredibly grateful for all the support we receive.

Often bikes are beyond fixing. Recycling them, even for us, is a costly and time-consuming process. Some bikes are simply non-repairable by design. You can read about that here. Taking them directly to a transfer station can save us time and money. Please click here for a list we have compiled detailing waste transfer stations throughout Melbourne.

Alternatively, you can try giving them away for free on Facebook Marketplace or try contacting a different bike shed that might be able to make use of it sooner than us – you can find a list of similar organisations here.

If you spot two or more of the following characteristics, the bike should be taken to a waste transfer station: 

• the bike is extra heavy
• excessive rust and/or peeling paint
• damage to the frame/fork
• flimsy plastic components
• suspension is stiff or won’t rebound
• wheels don’t spin freely and/or wobble
• the bike was bought from a supermarket such as Kmart or Big W (common brands are Huffy, Repco, Crane & Dunlop)
  

Drop off times
Please drop off bicycles or parts during our opening hours.

We cannot pick up donations
We are a small volunteer-run organisation and do not have the resources to pick up bikes.