Who will pay for the “bicycle cemetery”? Evolutionary game analysis of recycling abandoned shared bicycles under dynamic reward and punishment

China is the largest market for shared bicycles, and its “bicycle cemetery” phenomenon has attracted widespread attention. The end treatment of abandoned bicycles has become a key issue in the promotion of green travel and sustainable transportation. This paper introduces extended producer responsibility (EPR) and green tax, two WEEE recycling methods in the recycling system for abandoned bicycles in China, and builds a two-party game model based on local government supervision and corporate recycling strategies. The results show that setting a minimum recycling standard of 0.65 and implementing a strategy of rewards as the primary factor and punishment as a supplement helps enterprises to choose the more environmentally friendly EPR approach. The conversion rate and the level of enterprise effort positively affect the adoption of EPR by enterprises and can speed up the evolution of local governments to equilibrium strategies. What's more interesting is that controlling the government's regulatory investment to prevent enterprises from “free-riding” helps to promote the coordinated recycling of abandoned bicycles. This research is based on the current situation in China and offers a new perspective on recycling abandoned bicycles. The conclusions provide a reference for other countries seeking to formulate effective policies for the management of abandoned bicycles.