You jog in them. Compete in them. Maybe even meet your friend for lunch in them. They add an extra bounce to your step and urge you to take the stairs instead of the elevator. When the last thing you want to do is wake up for that morning run, they are there for you.
They have a special place in your closet and your heart. They are your tennis shoes, sneakers, jogging shoes, trainers, kicks. Whatever you call them, what happens once you’ve loved them to death?
Even though we get lots of life out of our shoes, Americans throw away at least 300 million pairs of shoes annually, according to the U.S. Department of Interior. In a landfill, it takes 30 to 40 years for shoes to decompose.
There are two methods for keeping sneakers out of landfills: donation and recycling.
The Overseas Shoe Market
In addition to secondhand stores that accept shoes — like Goodwill and Salvation Army — there are organizations specializing in shoe donation. Tennessee-based Soles4Souls has collected more than 46 million pairs of shoes since 2006 and distributed them to children in need internationally — and in the U.S.
Soles4Souls accepts all types of shoes — as long as they are new or gently worn. As a 501(c)(3) organization, all donations are tax-deductible. There are drop-off locations throughout the U.S., or you can donate them through a partnership with Zappos that includes free shipping.
More options for gently used athletic shoes:
- One World Running sends shoes in good condition to Africa, Central, and South America, as well as to shelters, churches, Native American reserves, and military recruits in the U.S.
- More Foundation Group also accepts gently used athletic shoes and sells them to help fund reforestation projects in Ghana.
Shoes Into Playgrounds and Sports Surfaces
If you’ve worn those kicks into the ground, then recycling will be your best bet. Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program has you covered.
Since the early 1990s, the Reuse-A-Shoe program has collected worn-out sneakers and salvaged materials to make Nike Grind, which is composed of nearly every part of an old running shoe: rubber from the outsole, foam from the midsole, and fabric from the upper. Nike Grind also contains pre-consumer material, including manufacturing scraps and shoes with manufacturing defects.
“The recycled shoes are given new life,” says Simon Lofts, director of Nike Inc. Sustainable Business & Innovation. “They are reborn into sports and playground surfaces around the world.” These surfaces range from neighborhood playgrounds to professional athletic surfaces and more.
Bring up to 10 pairs of any brand of athletic shoe to a Nike Store near you. Not all locations will accept shoes, so please check with the location before you drop them off.
If you don’t live near a Nike store, you can mail athletic shoes to the following address (you pay the shipping):
Nike Recycling Center
c/o Reuse-A-Shoe
199 Pearson Parkway
Lebanon, IN 46052
Other sports shoe manufacturers also offer product takeback:
- Adidas has partnered with thredUP to accept all brands of out-of-use shoes and clothing for resale or reuse. You’ll need to download their app to print the pre-paid shipping label.
- Asics has partnered with Give Back Box to accept gently used shoes and clothing. They also provide a pre-paid shipping label.
The non-Nike recycling method for sneakers involves breaking them down into four materials: leather, foam, rubber, and other. Leather gets bonded into new leather sheets, the foam can be recycled into carpet padding, rubber can be used for new shoes or surface material, and other material often becomes insulation.
Your shoes may be leaving their trusty place by your side, but they’ve got plenty of life ahead of them.
This article was originally published on July 12, 2010. We updated the article in December 2019 and April 2022.