Ridin' ecofriendly with a trash haulin' cargo bike

If there is one thing I love doing with my Bosch powered Xtracycle EdgeRunner it’s doin’ good. Recently I’ve taken to cleaning up trash from my local parks and trails. Having a stellar ecofriendly trash grabbing set up can make the job so much easier and can help you have a bigger impact on the trails you are working on. Here is the gear I use to give a hoot and not pollute on my trash haulin’ rides:

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1. Plastic storage bins.

These bins are super easy to find used at nearly any thrift store. Often times they are missing their lids too (making them less re-sellable and likely to end up in a dump) so take the opportunity to save some plastic bins from junk yard doom and head on over to your local thrift store to find your bins. Worst case scenario, you can’t find any used and end up buying some new. It’s still a win-win since you’re on a mission to better the earth!

I use one on my top deck (strapped to the Hooptie) and one on each side on top of a U-tube for a total of 3 bins. I use CinchStraps and various lash straps to secure them to my bike. The Hooptie measures 29.75″ long by 20.5″ wide at the narrowest setting at the 23.5″ wide at the widest setting. Any bin that fits into those dimensions should work. The taller the sides the better since that means more room to haul out trash!

I’ve tried this set up without the Hooptie and while I’m sure it would be possible to securely attach a bin on the deck with the right straps, I have never been able to do this successfully and highly recommend using the Hooptie to helps secure the bin.

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2. Trash Grabber.

I looooove my trash grabber. I’ve used a few and while the Niffy Nabber is pricier at $20, it’s totally worth it for its quality and strength. It’s nice and sturdy and can pick up nearly anything I try to grab without buckling. When riding, I store it in one of my side bins for easy access.

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3. Extra strong trash bags.

I personally use the Seventh Generation Extra Strong bags. Using plastic trash bags is a “lesser of two evils” kinda thing when it comes to waste pick up. I wish the trash I picked up would just up and disappear from existence but in reality, I need to be able to safely collect large amounts of trash and transport it in a contained way to a dumpster where it will then make its way to a local landfill. Using strong bags is important since thin or biodegradable trash bags (which I found out the hard way are super brittle) can cause the bag to rip open and fly out of the dump truck during transportation.

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4. Thick work gloves.

I swear by my G & F Florist Pro synthetic leather work gloves. They aren’t water proof but they create a thick barrier between my fingers and any objects I can’t pick up with my trash grabber.

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5. Xtracycle X3 SlingSet

The X3 SlingSet is another great way to secure bags and bins onto your bike. Simply load up the bins and strap them in! You can also attach the SlingSet higher up on your V-racks and use them to contain bags or bins in the Hooptie. When not in use, they can easily be clipped off and stored away.

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6. Xtracycle CinchStraps

I can never have too many of CinchStraps! I use them to secure bins, bags or large items like a car bumper (true story). I use a variety of various straps from different companies and I find that there are my favorite mostly because they cinch down super tight and the straps doesn’t budge thanks to the beefy cam buckle. The strap can loop into itself to create one continuous strap OR it can be unchained to created two separate parts so you can anchor the ends of the strap to a place on your ride.

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7. BONUS! A bike baby trailer turned trash hauler.

Have an old baby trailer laying around? These make for awesome trash hauler! I removed all the fabric from an old trailer of mine, attached a dog crate to it and use it to carry out items that might blow away easily (i.e. sytrofoam coolers) and additional trash bags. They are also great for strapping items to, like the aforementioned car bumper.

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Doin’ good by bike is easy and the bonus is it makes ya feel pretty damn good after a ride. Inspired to get out there and haul some junk with your cagro bike? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!