The Environmental Drawbacks of E-Bikes
Biking is one of the most eco-friendly forms of transportation, a way to get around town quickly without relying on fossil fuels. Electric bikes, or e-bikes for short, are a type of bicycle that have a pedal-assisted motor, allowing the rider to get further, faster with less effort. But is the e-bike as environmentally friendly as its non-electric counterpart?
The truth is: yes, but it’s complicated. While e-bikes are better for the environment than cars (electric or not) and get the user farther and faster than walking, running, or biking (without a motor), it’s important that we also recognize their negative environmental impacts. For example, one of the main concerns is that the mining of the metals and minerals necessary for the production of e-bikes is an environmentally-fraught process.
Whether you’re thinking about buying an e-bike or just curious about their environmental footprint, we understand the importance of getting the whole picture. In this article, we’ll dive into the less-discussed environmental drawbacks associated with e-bikes, and why they matter.
Photo by Curioso
Are e-bikes bad for the environment?
First things first, let’s set the record straight: e-bikes are an environmentally-sound choice of transportation.
If you’ve read our article on the hierarchy of sustainable transportation, you may have noticed an interesting thing: e-bikes are at the top of the list. But hold on a minute, you might say. How is it possible that e-bikes are better for the environment than walking, running, or even biking without a motor?
While e-bikes do require more resources to be produced and operated than their non-electric counterparts, they have one main advantage: they rival the personal vehicle. While the e-bike may not be the preferred choice for driving cross-country, it doesn’t have to be. Turns out, only 2% of all trips are greater than 50 miles. In fact, over half of all trips are less than 3 miles, a distance that can easily and efficiently be covered by the e-bike!
Another reason that the e-bike is more environmentally friendly than, say, walking, is that it’s more efficient. For example, while a 3-mile trip would take you an hour to walk, burning 267 calories in the process, that same distance would take less than 10 minutes on an e-bike averaging 20 mph, with far fewer calories burned in the process.
To understand why this matters, think about all of the resources, land, and energy required to produce food. Plus, because e-bikes are more efficient than walking, they’re more likely to be used regularly for getting around town. That ultimately results in fewer cars on the road, which has the potential to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel consumption, and wear on roads.
So, no, e-bikes are not bad for the environment. But, that doesn’t mean that they don’t have any impact on the environment at all. Rather, there are a number of impacts that we should not ignore.
The environmental impact of e-bikes
In 2021, Trek published what appeared to be the first sustainability report within the bike industry. This report not only revealed the carbon emissions associated with the production of each of Trek’s bike models, but also outlined the company’s various sustainability efforts such as using recycled metals and reducing packaging.
While it may have been the first sustainability report of its kind, it’s hopefully not the last. Not only do such reports hold companies accountable, they also help consumers understand the environmental impact of the product they’re buying.
So, in the spirit of transparency, let’s examine the negative environmental impacts e-bikes have on the environment, from production onward:
The mining of materials for the production of e-bikes
The primary argument against the eco-friendliness of e-bikes has to do with the mining of essential metals and minerals, which are used in many aspects of e-bike production, from the frame to the battery.
As with regular bicycles, e-bikes have a metal frame. Early bicycles used to be primarily made of steel, but today they are more often made from materials including aluminum, carbon, and titanium. However, these metals don’t just appear out of thin air – they have to be mined from rocks below the earth’s surface, a process which results in pollution to waterways, not to mention physical scarring of the earth.
But that’s not all – the raw materials then have to be processed into the metals as we know them through a number of energy-intensive steps, such as smelting (for steel). In fact, the mining industry accounts for 10% of all global energy usage.
Besides the frame, e-bikes also rely on the mining of minerals for the production of the battery, which is essentially a smaller version of the battery used in electric vehicles. Different versions of these batteries require minerals such as lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, carbon, and more.
Notably, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the mining of these minerals is significantly less than the mining for fossil fuels. However, they’re also associated with a host of other environmental impacts including pollution, energy usage, and land degradation.
The difficulty with recycling the metals used to make e-bikes
In theory, metal is infinitely recyclable. But in practice, not so much. There are many challenges associated with metal recycling, from inefficient technologies to low collection rates. Above all, metal recycling is just not seen as an economically viable option, even though it could save as much as 10-20 times the amount of energy it takes to mine new materials.
E-bikes, which are largely made of various metals, are tough to recycle. Let’s first consider the frame. While e-bikes have a potentially long lifespan, designs are constantly changing, which means that older models eventually become obsolete. Once e-bikes no longer have any use, they can be sold to scrap yards, where the metal parts can be broken down and recycled. Unfortunately, this is rarely done.
More than the frame, however, the battery of an e-bike is not as easy to recycle as one would hope. While most of its components can technically be recycled, it’s not generally considered a cost-effective process within the metal recycling industry. This means many lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries eventually find their way to the landfill, resulting in toxic chemicals contaminating the land and water.
Improving the sustainability of such batteries (which are also used in phones and electric cars), will require the ability to effectively recycle them. To encourage the necessary innovation, a Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize is being offered to the company that can prove the profitability of recapturing at least 90% of all discarded lithium-ion batteries.
The eco-friendliness of an e-bike depends on its source of energy
In addition to the environmental impacts of mining the metals used in producing e-bikes, and their low recyclability rates, the source of energy used to charge the battery of an e-bike determines its overall carbon footprint.
Clean energy is energy that comes from renewable sources, including solar, wind, and hydro. If your home is powered by renewable energy, whether in part or in full, then the carbon footprint of an e-bike is mostly limited to its production.
If, on the other hand, you charge your e-bike’s battery with electricity that comes from fossil fuels (which still accounts for 60% of the United States’ energy supply), then your e-bike has a slightly larger environmental footprint.
Ultimately, the energy consumption of an e-bike, even if from fossil fuels, is still less than that associated with electric vehicles and non-electric vehicles, but notable nonetheless.
Batteries have a relatively short lifespan
If you’ve ever owned a car for more than four years, you’ve probably had to buy a new battery for it. On average, the lead-acid batteries used in most vehicles only last 3-4 years before they lose the ability to hold enough charge.
Similarly, lithium-ion batteries, only have a limited lifespan. Depending on the type of battery and its manufacturer, an e-bike’s battery lasts about 2-4 years, or 500-1000 charges. An e-bike’s battery may last longer or shorter depending on its use, storage, and care.
Unfortunately, 2-4 years is simply not a very long time, especially when considering that the batteries are difficult to recycle. Until lithium-ion battery recycling is more viable, replacing the battery on an e-bike has an environmental impact associated with it, especially in regards to the mining of precious minerals.
Other disadvantages of e-bikes
As we’ve seen, e-bikes are not a net-zero product. While they are by far a better alternative to cars and have the potential to revolutionize transportation, they leave behind an impact on the environment that should not be ignored.
Now, if you’re debating whether to buy an e-bike, you may be wondering whether it’s worth it. That’s ultimately a decision that’s up to you, and likely depends on a variety of factors such as budget and intended use. Compared to the standard bike, e-bikes may be faster and more efficient, but they come with a few other notable disadvantages:
They are more expensive (both in terms of upfront cost and repairs).
They are much heavier.
The battery has a limited riding range, beyond which the heaviness of the bike may make pedaling more difficult.
They have a relatively low resale value due to constant improvements in the market and the aforementioned short battery lifespan.
At first glance, the disadvantages explored in this article may seem overwhelming. However, e-bikes also come with a whole host of environmental benefits. Plus, the technology is constantly improving, meaning that batteries will only get better and recycling will eventually become a viable option.
Are you thinking about getting an e-bike? What’s holding you up? If you already own one, what benefits has it had for you?
