Cycle-re-Cycle now refurbishing scooters
Published
Tuesday 3 February, 2026
Updated
Tuesday 3 February, 2026
You can now donate your unwanted kick scooters, alongside bicycles, to be refurbished by prisoners as part of Swale Borough Council’s Cycle-re-Cycle scheme.
The project sees HMP Swaleside inmates upskilling themselves and making positive steps towards their rehabilitation, whilst saving bikes from the tip.
The bikes are then sold for just £10, providing Swale residents with affordable, environmentally friendly transportation, that helps keep them active and healthy.
Now thanks to £5,000 from Active Travel England’s Consolidated Active Travel Fund the scheme is now accepting non-electric, manual only scooters.
The council are hosting a bicycle and scooter donation day on Friday 6 February from 8am to 10am at the Swale House car park, ME10 3HT to kickstart the expanded initiative.
More than 340 bikes have already been refurbished and sold on through local community groups helping make sure the scheme is self-funding and sustainable.
The council funded the initial supply of bike parts and workshop consumables, while Canterbury Bike Project trained an instructor to deliver the City & Guilds qualification at the prison.
Cllr Dolley Wooster, chair of the Environmental Services and Climate Change Committee, said:
“Cycle-re-Cycle is an incredible project; it benefits our environment by saving bikes and scooters from the tip, helps prisoners with their rehabilitation journeys and promotes healthier lifestyles through active travel.
“The scheme is growing from strength to strength, and we have been blown away by the support we have received from our residents, who have donated the bikes needed to keep the project running and have been purchasing the refurbished bikes.
“We are proud to announce we will now be accepting scooters too, giving people even more affordable options to get active, while offering more workshop experience to the prisoners.
“If you have a bicycle or a scooter that you aren’t using, please consider donating it at our event and helping it find a new home, but bear in mind we won’t be accepting anything with a motor.”
If you have a roadworthy bike – two wheels and two brakes – drop it off at the donation point at the Sheerness or Faversham household waste recycling centres, along with new or good condition used parts.
You can find out more about the Cycle-re-Cycle scheme here.
