Giro's Silo Is the World’s First Compostable, Recyclable Helmet
Do you remember your first bike helmet? Maybe it was an old Bell V1-Pro, or even a kid’s helmet, from your youth. Think about this: While you moved on long ago, that helmet is still with us today. In fact, every piece of conventional expanded polystyrene, or EPS foam (commonly called Styrofoam), ever produced is still on the planet.
Bike helmets may be only a part of that stream of long-lived waste, but helmet maker Giro would like not to be part of it at all. Enter the Silo, a compostable and recyclable hardshell commuter helmet.
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The Silo ($50, available at this fall starting at REI) swaps traditional EPS foam for a plant-based expanded polylactic acid (EPLA) foam. EPLA foam has been around for a few years, but using it in helmets requires some R&D. Since all helmets must pass CPSC testing to be legal for sale in the US, Giro had to tune the density and properties of the foam to stand up to drop testing. The helmet also had to have a service life similar to those of conventional helmets—up to 10 years, depending on use and conditions.
But when it does reach the end of its life, the Silo is far kinder to the planet. Disassemble the helmet by pulling off the ABS plastic hardshell, which can be recycled. Snip the straps and toss them and the EPLA liner in the compost bin (to biodegrade over a reasonable amount of time, it has to actually be composted; landfills are often so anaerobic that even organic matter doesn’t break down normally). The only parts that are landfilled are the plastic buckles.
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The Silo is Giro’s first EPLA helmet, but it won’t be its last, says spokesman Mark Riedy—the company would like to eventually phase out EPS altogether. But switching to EPLA foam also has manufacturing challenges, so the company is starting with the Silo as a kind of pilot project. It could be a few years before you see a Xen or Synthe made with EPLA. But if that day does come, the Silo will be where it all started.
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