I HAVE just been to the Redbridge recycling centre with a load of rusty metal, broken bricks and gnarled roots.

But instead of a car, my journey was on a bike towing a bike trailer.

I have never seen another bike trailer there, though I am sure there must be others doing the same thing.

Being able to skip round the queues of cars is reason enough.

Everyone knows how efficient bikes are at getting from A to B but in most people’s minds the bike is about moving a single human rather than heavy loads.

Though there are more cargo bikes in Oxford, and more parents are using child carrying bikes and trailers, the humble load-carrying bike trailer is still a relative rarity.

We have written before in this column (November 23) about the growth of commercial cargo bikes replacing delivery lorries from the centre of town, with Pedal and Post as our local success story.

There is even more potential to reduce unnecessary car journeys if each cycling household had the use of a bike trailer, perhaps sharing one as Cyclox does for its stall equipment.

In 2005 a depressing two thirds of all car journeys were less than five miles (Sustrans) and shopping by car is the prime example of a short inefficient journey.

A bike trailer is a practical alternative for bringing home the week’s shopping from the supermarket. Waitrose will even lend you one.

Taking unwanted items to charity shops on a bike trailer is another opportunity to avoid the problems of parking.

Perhaps my favourite use of a bike trailer is my bike taxi service. I cycle to the bus or railway station with a folding bike in the trailer, and for the return journey their belongings go in the trailer and the visitor cycles the folding bike.

My biggest load was a rusty steel coal bunker, over a metre on each side, which looked quite a sight going down Abingdon Road.

What are the disadvantages? Clearly the trailer has to be packed carefully and thought given to keeping the contents dry. High loads need care when cornering.

It would help if the some of the cycle lanes were wider, cycle barriers are a real problem and speed humps need some thought to negotiate.

Bike trailers need to be stored somewhere though some fold quite compactly.

Some bike trailers need a dedicated fitting but others will attach to any bike, clamping securely to the frame. The lack of mudguards on bike trailers is frustrating, and my attempts to fit some have not been a great success.

Now you are thinking that you could use one, what do you do next?

It isn’t difficult to imagine jobs you would find easier with a bike trailer, and initially at least, borrowing one from a friend is ideal, since then the storage isn’t your problem.

So ask around next time you need to move something bulky.