June 30, 2026 By Adam C
Running a shared e-bike fleet creates a stream of waste that most riders never see: spent batteries, worn tires, bent parts, and the packaging used to ship them. Through a partnership with WALTER, a Brooklyn-based social enterprise, JOCO ensures those materials are recycled responsibly while creating paid technical jobs for young adults facing barriers to employment.
Over the program’s first fourteen months, the partnership kept 57,120 pounds of material out of landfill and generated 1,842 hours of paid work for young New Yorkers.
Every e-bike eventually reaches the point where a battery, tire, brake, or other component needs to be replaced. Across an entire fleet operating every day in New York City, those worn parts quickly add up.
Improperly discarded lithium-ion batteries aren’t just an environmental issue—they’re also a fire risk. As e-mobility continues to grow, so does the amount of equipment reaching the end of its useful life.
JOCO co-founder Jonathan Cohen describes e-mobility waste as “a fast-growing and largely invisible problem.”
At the same time, New York faces another challenge: many young adults struggle to access technical careers despite growing demand for skilled workers. JOCO designed its recycling program to address both challenges together.
JOCO operates a shared e-bike system for delivery riders. Riders unlock a fully charged bike from a JOCO docking station using the app, complete their deliveries, and return the bike when they’re finished. Riders never have to own, charge, store, or maintain a bike, which means JOCO is responsible for every stage of that bike’s lifecycle—including what happens when parts wear out.
That’s where WALTER comes in.
WALTER services JOCO’s warehouse and fleet facilities. Throughout normal operations, JOCO staff sort used materials into dedicated collection crates. WALTER collects those materials and processes each waste stream at its own facility.
Unlike a traditional recycling hauler, WALTER is a social enterprise whose mission is to provide paid employment opportunities for young adults facing barriers to work. Every collection supports both responsible recycling and workforce development.
Recycling is never the first option.
With the exception of batteries, every component is evaluated individually before being recycled. Tires, wheels, pedals, kickstands, brakes, and other parts are inspected to determine whether they can safely be refurbished and returned to service.
“Each component is individually assessed, and only parts that can no longer be safely or effectively refurbished are sent for recycling,” says Cohen.
If a part still has useful life remaining, it goes back onto another bike. Only components that can no longer be safely reused are recycled.
The figures below come directly from WALTER’s impact dashboard for JOCO, covering approximately fourteen months of collections. Every material stream is individually measured, making the results fully auditable rather than estimated.
| Impact | Since the program began |
|---|---|
| CO₂ emissions avoided | 304,727 lbs (about 138 metric tons) |
| Material kept out of landfill | 57,120 lbs (about 28.6 US tons) |
| Carbon equivalent | About 5,540 trees growing for one year (~79 acres of forest) |
| Driving avoided | 356,170 miles—more than 14 times around the Earth |
| Paid work created | 1,842 labor hours, equal to 46 full-time work weeks |
The emissions figure compares recycling those materials against sending the same materials to disposal.
Twelve different material streams are recovered through JOCO’s operations. Batteries, aluminum, and rubber account for roughly 69% of everything diverted by weight, with batteries and aluminum each contributing more than 13,500 pounds.
| Material | Recovered | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Batteries | 13,621 lbs | 23.8% |
| Aluminum | 13,531 lbs | 23.7% |
| Rubber | 12,262 lbs | 21.5% |
| Cardboard | 7,400 lbs | 13.0% |
| Metal | 5,242 lbs | 9.2% |
| Plastic, copper & more | 5,064 lbs | 8.8% |
Additional materials include plastic, copper, styrofoam, shrink wrap, general waste, wood, and nylon. Every material stream is weighed independently—nothing is estimated or averaged.
Recovered materials are collected from three JOCO facilities and sent to specialist downstream processors rather than entering the general waste stream. Batteries, aluminum, and copper each go to dedicated processors, while rubber, wood, packaging, and other materials are routed to facilities equipped to handle those specific streams.
Every shipment is tracked from pickup through final processing, providing the data needed to accurately measure environmental impact.
The environmental impact is only part of the story.
The partnership has generated 1,842 hours of paid work for young adults facing barriers to employment—the equivalent of 46 full-time work weeks.
Those hours involve hands-on technical work, including sorting, assessing, and processing e-bike components. Along the way, participants gain practical experience with the same skills that are increasingly in demand across the micromobility industry.
“Many motivated young adults lack access to technical training and clear pathways into emerging industries, even as employers struggle to find skilled talent,” says Cohen. “We saw an opportunity to address both challenges together.”
Building a sustainable e-bike system means thinking beyond the ride itself.
Every fleet needs a plan for how bikes are maintained, repaired, and eventually retired. Responsible end-of-life management is just as important as keeping riders moving during the life of the bike.
For JOCO, recycling isn’t an afterthought—it’s part of the infrastructure that supports the entire system. The result is a cleaner fleet, less waste entering landfill, and more opportunities for young New Yorkers to build technical careers.
JOCO refurbishes components whenever they can be safely reused. Every part is individually assessed, and only those that can no longer be refurbished are recycled. Batteries and recyclable materials are sorted into dedicated collection crates before being collected by WALTER and sent to specialist processors.
WALTER is a Brooklyn-based social enterprise that hires young adults facing barriers to employment. It services JOCO’s facilities and processes the material generated by JOCO’s shared e-bike fleet.
During the program’s first fourteen months, JOCO and WALTER kept 57,120 pounds of material out of landfill while avoiding 304,727 pounds of CO₂ emissions—approximately 138 metric tons, or the amount of carbon absorbed by roughly 5,540 trees in one year.
Batteries, aluminum, and rubber are the three largest material streams by weight, together accounting for approximately 69% of everything diverted. Other materials include cardboard, metal, plastic, copper, styrofoam, wood, and nylon.
The partnership has supported 1,842 paid labor hours—equal to 46 full-time work weeks—for young adults facing barriers to employment while providing valuable technical skills for careers in the growing micromobility industry.
JOCO keeps delivery riders moving on charged e-bikes while making sure the waste created behind the scenes stays out of landfill. From deployment to end-of-life recycling, sustainability is built into every stage of the system.
Learn more about JOCO →
