Life cycle carbon dioxide emissions of bike sharing in China: Production, operation, and recycling

Abstract

Recent global environmental initiatives designed to achieve a more sustainable society include the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement. While the shared economic model has long been linked to the creation of the sustainable use of resources, one problem encountered by the bike sharing is whether the current management model can maintain the focus on sustainability in China. Based on the amount of resources consumed during bike production, operation, and recycling, this paper aims to use life cycle carbon emission assessment to calculate an emission reduction threshold for bike-sharing industry. The research obtained energy consumption data from the OFO Curve bike, which is the most commonly used type of bike sharing in China. Calculating the average distance traveled and number of times each bike was used per day via the Baidu Map Application Program Interface, we found that the average number of times each bike was used per day was 4.552, and the average riding distance was 0.356 km. Additionally, the overall utilization of shared bikes averages about 50%. Further results show that the whole life cycle carbon footprint of one bike is 34.56 kg CO2. The power generation by incineration produces 1.9916 kg CO2 in less than a landfill. If a bike is deposited directly in a landfill, it will take 31 years to degrade. The final calculations show that based on the current number of bikes, each used at least 686 days to achieve a net positive reduction in emissions. This paper provides a basis for capacity management and operation management of shared bikes from the perspective of pro-environment and provides a new angle for the research on environmental impact of sharing economy.