MILAN – Nicknamed the Steve Jobs of bikes by his friends, Juan Muzzi, a Uruguayan by way of Brazil, applies the “Think Different” philosophy to the environment. He has made the first bicycle in the world from recycled plastic, using millions of bottles picked up from landfill and saving the planet from the damage of kilos of oil and harmful emissions.
THE BIKE ITSELF – How good for you is a nice bike ride? We know that exercise is important, but in this case it goes hand-in-hand with respecting the environment, so the benefits are two-fold: for us and for the planet. Juan Muzzi, a Uruguayan inventor, designed the revolutionary Muzzi Cycles, road bikes that don’t need soldering or varnish and made using high quantities of PET. In just one year, Mr Muzzi recycled 15,840,600 PET bottles, turning them into 132,000 bike frames and saving 980,732 kg of oil and 2,738,277 kg of CO2. Even the price is sustainable: a recycled bike costs just $140 and can be bought online.
THE “HUMAN” BIKE – The form and features of these innovative bikes are reminiscent of the bone structure of the human body: agile, light and hollow. But unlike us, they don’t wear out over time because they don’t rust and remain intact for a long time. Juan Muzzi recently stated that Germany and the US were keen on the idea, but Brazil itself was proving resistant. He was able to set up his business with a loan from the Bank of Uruguay and the recycled bikes are now hugely popular in South America.
