A Tycycler ready for use
Not only does Nigeria currently have no means of clean or legal wire collection from tyres, but the current processis also extremely harmful to both humans and the environment. Steel wire scrap is retrieved by burning discarded tyres. The scrap is then sold. Inventor Josh Palfreman believes that he has a solution through a hydraulic machine, Tycycler that removes the wires safely.
Wire collection in Nigeria has for many years been a dangerous endeavour as informal waste collectors were forced to burn tyres to collect the wire within. Once collected these wires are resold to the market, providing a means of income for informal traders.
Tycycler is hoping to change that process altogether. Marketing itself as the only clean and non-motorised means of tyre-wire collection in Africa, Tycycler uses a hydraulic pump, sharp edge and human energy to collect wire. The Tycycler promises to collect up to 150 wires from tyres per day, which produces roughly 180 – 200 kilograms of steel wire to be sold again by entrepreneurs.
Palfreman launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the development of the machine.
