{"id":7735,"date":"2011-09-03T01:00:10","date_gmt":"2011-09-03T08:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145696.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=7735"},"modified":"2011-09-03T01:00:10","modified_gmt":"2011-09-03T08:00:10","slug":"giving-new-life-to-old-running-shoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelgoodstyle.com\/articles\/giving-new-life-to-old-running-shoes\/","title":{"rendered":"Giving New Life to Old Running Shoes"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Jacquie Cattanach<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"running<\/a><\/p>\n

“What was the secret they wanted to know, in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret … it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that sometimes heart rending and un-profound task of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottom of his running shoes. The Trial of Miles, Miles of Trials …”<\/em><\/p>\n

John L. Parker \u2013 Once a Runner<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Don’t send your kicked pair of running shoes to the dumpster! Donate them instead to one of these organizations that takes old running shoes and gives them a brand new life.<\/h3>\n

There’s no doubt that as runners, we have a special attachment to our running shoes. As my spouse frequently reminds me, I have a huge collection of shoes, each with their own particular use: Trail running shoes for off road training, well cushioned shoes for putting in mileage on the roads, lightweight trainers for road races and even a beat up pair of spikes for those increasingly rare track races. After all, a runner’s shoes are like a baseball player’s glove or a tennis player’s racquet. They’re the fundamental equipment of our sport.<\/p>\n

Despite all this, we subject our shoes to a tremendous amount of wear and tear over time. And then, when they’re no longer useful we simply throw them away like any old piece of junk.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, though there are more productive things we can do with our old shoes that are both environmentally and socially responsible.<\/p>\n

Recycling Running Shoes<\/h3>\n

Shoes that are truly beat up and past their prime can be given new life through Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program<\/a>. This program takes old shoes and breaks them down into their primary components for reuse in other applications.<\/p>\n

You can drop off your shoes for recycling at any Nike or Converse store in the United States and many others throughout the world. The old shoes are recycled, along with pre-consumer material, which includes shoes that aren’t fit to sell due to defects and assorted scrap from the shoe manufacturing process.<\/p>\n

The shoes are then broken down into three components: the rubber from the soles, foam from the midsole and the fabric used in the upper. These materials are then recycled for use in different applications.<\/p>\n