Recycle your used tennis shoes

Post from the Past:

My son’s tennis shoes never last through the whole school year. Mid way through I always end up buying him a new pair. More times than not, those old shoes are way too trashed for anyone else to use so they end up in the garbage. I should say; they use to end up in the garbage. This year those stinky, smelly, worn out tennis shoes were deposited in the recycling bin at the Nike store.

Nike has a great program called Reuse-a-shoe:








“Where worn-out athletic shoes of any brand are collected, processed and recycled into material used in sports surfaces like basketball courts, tennis courts, athletic fields, running tracks and playgrounds for young people around the world.”

So instead of adding to the landfill we can help build a playground! I don’t know about your kids but mine would much rather play on a structure surrounded by recycled rubber than by bark chips, sand, or even grass.

If your family has some old athletic shoes that you were thinking of throwing away, take them to Nike instead (Find a location near you) and let your shoes build a basketball court instead of becoming part of an already over crowded land fill. To make it even easier, Nike even accepts shoes through the mail!

When I first learned of the Reuse-a-shoe program I was so excited about it that I told everyone I knew, including my son's principle. She agreed to let me place an empty box at school to gather used shoes throughout the year. So far we are on box #4!

(Addition to original post: This recycle box has been at my son's school for 2 years now and I have deposited approximately 24 garbage bags full of shoes into the Nike Reuse-a-shoe bin!)

Go Green: Recycle your old tennis shoes. While you’re at it, recycle your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers shoes too!

Original post of Over Coffee-the green edition. Not to be used or copied in any way without written permission..