Trash Today Track Tomorrow.

One of my favorite programs is the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program. I just received an e-mail from them that includes some facts that I thought were worth sharing with you (I love facts and lists almost as much as I love reusable bags. Seriously.)

I have 2 more full boxes of shoes collected at my son's school to deliver to my local Nike store. I am really amazed at how many shoes a small school can collect. Just imagine how many a university can collect! (You can read my post about that: Recycle your used tennis shoes)

The following list shows what part of the shoe and approximately how many pairs of athletic shoes, or the manufacturing equivalent thereof, generally go into making each type of athletic surface:

• Outdoor basketball court (midsole foam): 2,500 pairs
• Outdoor tennis court (midsole foam): 2,500 pairs
• Full field or soccer pitch (outsole rubber): 50,000-75,000 pairs
• Mini soccer field (outsole rubber): 10,000-20,000 pairs
• Running track (outsole rubber): 75,000 pairs
• Playground (outsole rubber): 2,500 pairs
• Indoor wood basketball court (upper fabric): 2,500 pairs
• Indoor synthetic basketball court (midsole foam): 2,500 pairs
  

To create these surfaces, Nike partners with top-quality surfacing companies, providing them with Nike Grind materials and working together to develop innovative products usually containing between 10 and 40 percent Nike Grind:

• Outdoor Basketball Courts – Rebound Ace and Atlas Track & Tennis use Nike Grind Foam in outdoor basketball courts.
• Indoor Basketball and Volleyball Courts – Nike Grind Foam and Upper are used to create cushioning beneath these surfaces.
• Tracks – Atlas Track & Tennis mixes Nike Grind Rubber with virgin rubber to create synthetic indoor and outdoor running tracks.
• Soccer and Football Fields – Turf companies use Nike Grind Rubber granules as the infill – the “soil” – of a synthetic field.
• Tennis Courts – Our surfacing partner Rebound Ace uses Nike Grind Foam as a cushion below the playing surface, providing support and springiness for indoor and outdoor tennis courts.
• Playgrounds – Playtop creates impact-absorbing safety surfacing for playgrounds using Nike Grind Rubber.
• Interlocking Flooring Tiles – Using around 90 percent recycled rubber, Training Ground creates interlocking tiles for use in home gyms. It incorporates more than 25 percent pre-consumer Nike Grind Rubber, which gives it a colorful look as well.

Learn how to start your own group recycling by clicking Here or where to recycle your own athletic shoes by clicking Here.