It's a Shoe-in! Recycle your preloved footwear
Did you know that of the 110 million shoes that make their way to Australian shores each year, only 1% are collected and recycled after use? And of course shoe components can take up to 1000 years to decompose in landfill. But instead of throwing unused shoes in the bin, you can drop them off at participating retailers for them to be recycled responsibly.
That’s right! You can take any unwanted & pre-loved sports or active lifestyle shoes - from sneakers and trainers to golf shoes – into one of 400+ participating retailers (including stores like Rebel, Athletes Foot, Platypus, Hype and Drummond Golf) to be recycled.
It's an initiative called TreadLightly, operated by the Australian Sporting Goods Association with support from the federal government through the National Product Stewardship Investment Fund (NPSIF) and it means you can now give your preloved footwear new life and divert hundreds of tonnes from landfill at the same time!
Simply drop them off in the designated collection unit (hit the button below to find one near you). The footwear is then collected and sent to a recycling plant for sorting, breakdown and processing here in Australia. Reusable components are extracted, including rubber, leather and fibres at the recycling facility. Reclaimed materials are used to manufacture new products such as gym mats, floors and playgrounds.
They accept:
• Athletic Lifestyle Shoes• Any Sports Branded Shoes• Thongs And Slides• Football Boots• Sneakers• Trainers• Runners• Golf Shoes
TreadLightly unites the Australian sporting and active lifestyle community across codes, brands, retailers, manufacturers, athletes, and consumers to reduce its environmental footprint and drive a truly circular economy – turning old shoes into useful products used right on the shop floor! The recycled crumb is used as change room flooring, anti-fatigue mats as well as for playground and gyms around Australia.
By giving consumers, retailers and manufacturers the means to take real action, it’s providing a local solution to the global waste problem and making it easier than ever before for us all to tread lightly.
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