Bike Bins: good looks, great features, but how green are they?

For some people, cycling is about fitness, speed and distance, on or off road. For others, it's a green way of getting from A to B that's faster than walking and a way of getting out in the countryside that also happens to get you fit. There are probably as many different types of cyclist as there are species of bird! but I definitely fall into the latter category (with a bit of mountain biking thrown in for good measure), so am always on the lookout for "green" additions to my bike kit. I mean, promoting the green credentials of cycling while decorating our bikes with petro-chemical based products is just an extra stick for Jeremy Clarkson and his ilk to beat us with. So let's not go there.

Imagine then how disappointed I was to discover (after mailing the company) to find that the green credentials of Bike Bins are due to fact that they're recyclablerather than their recycled material origins. Oh well.

If you are looking to replace an old, broken pair that really are on their last legs, or you're looking for your first pannier (and can't get any from Freecycle!) then these are probably a green-ish bet. If you don't mind black.

The trouble with recycled plastics, specifically polyethylene (used in the manufacturer of these lovely looking things), is that you can't use recycled plastic and be choosy about the colour. So we can have bright, funky panniers made of non-recycled polyethylene, or we can have black (or grey, or dirty green) recycled ones. Currently, Bike Bins aren't using recycled material for any of their bins, even the black ones, but they have said they will be sourcing it in future, so when Bike Bins rise to the green challenge and offer us a choice, I'll revise my assessment and tick the green box.

Even if they don't really tick the green box, they do still have a lot going for them, although they're quite pricey at £35 each (or £32 each for two or more). Price aside, they're unlikely to break, waterproof, lockable, double as a camping stool (?), and - according to one customer - have saved their bike from damage! Plus, they come in a range of bright, funky colours. What's not to like?

Bike Bins: www.bikebins.com
Product type: Pannier
Funk-ometer: 7/10 (bright funky colours, no patterns)
Green-ometer: 5/10 (can be recycled but made from nasty petro-chemicals)
Practical-ometer: 10/10 (waterproof, lockable, greast carrying capacity, and other imaginative uses possible)
Price: £35 (single) £32 (multiples)
Overall: 7.3 ****

Buy them here.