Well as I promised, I've got some great information about Nike, the world-wide shoe and apparel company, and how they are doing their part to help our environment. Have you ever thought about what happens to your old clothes and shoes after you throw them away? Well before Nike stepped in, those shoes were just added into the 220 million tons of trash America accumulates each year. That has now come to an end. Nike is providing an outlet for those used shoes and is recycling them into basketball courts, tennis courts, playgrounds and more!
ReUse a Shoe is a program Nike developed in 1994 to recycle all brands of shoes into either new shoes or sport facilities. According to Nike, the materials used in tennis shoes, like rubber, can be used in so many ways that it is a waste not to take advantage of old, used tennis shoes.
Take a look at The YouTube video of ReUse a Shoe : ReUse a Shoe
Since the development of ReUse a Shoe, Nike has recycled 20 million pairs, according to their website. They have donated a significant amout of material for the development of sport surfaces and have branched out the recycling system to various other countries. The point is - people are really sending their old shoes in, and the ReUse a Shoe program has been a success!
Now cities are working in conjunction with Nike to help recycle rubber. For example "the City of Milwaukee has participated in the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program since the summer of 2004," according to the cities public works website.
Nike has partnered up with hundreds of different recycling organizations. To get your city involved contact your community leaders to have the ReUse a Shoe program in your town.
For those of you who are looking for easy ways to "go green" this is one step in the right direction. It takes less then 10 minutes to participate in the ReUse a Shoe program. First take a look at the brief description of what you can and can not send in below:
WHAT KIND OF ATHLETIC SHOES CAN I SEND?
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| | SEND IN ANY BRAND, ANY QUALITY, ANY AGE. ALL ATHLETIC SHOES WELCOME! |
WHAT CAN I NOT SEND IN?
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| | NO CLEATS, METALS OR SPIKES |
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| | SANDALS, PUMPS, HIGH-HEELS OF ANY SORT, OR NICE WALKING SHOES |
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| | DO NOT PUT YOUR SHOES IN BAGS OR TIE THE LACES TOGETHER. |
Now all you have to do is drop off the shoes. For many cities, there are already established drop-off locations. Click here for locations. Here in Arizona, the only drop off stations found from Nike.com are listed below:
Tempe South Police Substation
8201 S HARDY DR
TEMPE, AZ 85284
Phone:
480.350.8145
Drop-off times:
24 hrs.
Drop-off dates:
Permanent Location
This drop-off site is part of the City of Tempe shoe collection project.
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Arc Thrift Store
201 W SOUTHERN AVENUE, SUITE 39
TEMPE, Az 85282
Phone:
480-966-8536
Drop-off times:
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. M-Sat; 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., Sun.
Drop-off dates:
Permanent Location
This drop-off site is part of the City of Tempe shoe collection project.
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Arizona State University Student Recreation Complex (SRC)
400 E APACHE BLVD
TEMPE, AZ 85281
Phone:
480.965.8900
Drop-off times:
6am - 11pm, M-F; 9am - 9pm, Sat.-Sun.
Drop-off dates:
Permanent Location
This drop-off site is part of the City of Tempe shoe collection project.
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Gentle Strength Cooperative
234 W UNIVERSITY DR
TEMPE, AZ 85281
Phone:
480.350.8145
Drop-off times:
24 hrs.
Drop-off dates:
Permanent Location
This drop-off site is part of the City of Tempe shoe collection project.
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Kiwanis Recreation Center
6111 S ALL-AMERICAN WY
TEMPE, AZ 85283
Phone:
480.350.8145
Drop-off times:
24 hrs.
Drop-off dates:
Permanent Location
This drop-off site is part of the City of Tempe shoe collection project.
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Tempe Public Library
3500 S RURAL RD
TEMPE, AZ 85282
Phone:
480.350.8145
Drop-off times:
24 hrs.
Drop-off dates:
Permanent Location
This drop-off site is part of the City of Tempe shoe collection project.
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University Presbyterian Church
139 EAST ALAMEDA DRIVE
TEMPE, AZ 85282
Phone:
480-350-8145
Drop-off times:
24 hrs.
Drop-off dates:
Permanent Location
This drop-off site is part of the City of Tempe shoe collection project.
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Westside Multigenerational Center
715 WEST 5TH STREET
TEMPE, AZ 85281
Phone:
480.350.8145
Drop-off times:
8 a.m. - 8 p.m., M-F; 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sat; 1 p.m. - 6 p.m., Sun
Drop-off dates:
Permanent Location
This drop-off site is part of the City of Tempe shoe collection project.
Unfortunately the city of Tucson has not yet created a shoe collection project like the city of Tempe has done, however for those of you living in an area without a drop-off there is another option. You can package up your old shoes fallowing the diagram above and mail them to:
Nike Recycling Center
c/o Reuse-A-Shoe
26755 SW 95th Ave.
Wilsonville, OR 97070
Hope this was some usefull information for those of you wanting to "go green"!
Lauren
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