A bicycle is one of the "greenest" vehicles ever conceived by humanity. An Israeli cycling enthusiast has shown that they can be even more environmentally friendly by putting a fully functioning ride together out of household waste, namely cardboard.

According to 50 year old Izhar Gafni, the man who made this happen, making a proper shape out of cardboard is extremely difficult and took him over a year to get right, with plenty of trial and error. After the shape is formed, it is then treated with a secret ingredient which makes the cardboard very hard, waterproof and fireproof. It still remains lighter than metal, with a cardboard bicycle weighing in at 9 kg and the average metal one at 14kg. The tires are made out of recycled car tires and ,according Gaffni's business partner Nimrod Elmish, do not need to be inflated and do not puncture. 

Gafni and Elmish are looking to start mass production very soon. According to thm, the beauty of making bicycles out of cardboard is the affordability. It costs so little to make that government grants for using green material should cover it, which means the bicycle can theoretically be given away for free. Retailers still need to make a profit, but they should not cost over $20. With clean transportation that everyone can afford, this could change the way we look at transportation and have a very positive effect on the environment. 

By Denis Ivanov