Monroe County Department of Environmental Services (MCDES) is participating in a program with the National Recycling Coalition and Nike, Inc. that will allow area residents to recycle their unwanted athletic sneakers instead of throwing them in the garbage. Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe Program recycles and grinds athletic footwear and turns them into sports surfaces.

Sneaker collection barrels are located at 444 E. Henrietta Road (Building 15) in both public access doors. The doors are open to the public 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Residents making appointments (585 753-7600 : Option 3) to bring unwanted paint, chemicals, etc. to the county’s Household Hazardous Waste Facility may also bring in sneakers for recycling. The program accepts sneakers only (any brand)—no shoes, boots, sandals. The sneakers must not be the light-up variety or contain any metal (eyelets, grommets, spikes, cleats, etc.) and cannot be tied together or in plastic bags.

MCDES will also hold sneaker collection drives at the Monroe County Resource Recovery Facility and at area schools. For more information call (585) 753-7526.

Thanks to Monroe County, Nike and Metro Waste; several schools (Brockport Middle, Brooks Hill Elementary, RIT, SUNY Brockport, SJFC, RCSD #9 School, Park Road Elementary, Nazareth College, SUNY Empire, MCC, Harley Upper School, Munn Elementary, Charlotte High School, Klem South Elementary) and community groups are helping to take old defective sneakers and turn them into something that ultimately helps benefit young people around the world.  Sneakers have been collected at a high school basketball game, a schoolwide recycle rally or even Pae-Tec Park. Monroe County also hosted a public collection at the Monroe County Recycling Center Saturday, June 24, 2006.
Footwear is separated into three main materials—upper fabric, midsole foam and outsole rubber—and then ground up. Nike has successfully found constructive uses for all of the materials from these post-consumer and defective athletic shoes. Nike GRIND (the ground up sneakers) can become a new soccer field, football field, tennis or basketball court, outdoor track, or even a safe playground surface. Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program started in 1993, and has recycled over 16 million pairs of sneakers. One outdoor running track will keep 75,000 pairs of old sneakers out of the local landfill and put to good use. Each outdoor basketball court or a tennis court is made from over 2,500 recycled sneakers. And, a small elementary school playground surface will keep almost 5,000 sneakers out of our landfills.

 

Getting old sneakers back in the game has been a very successful project. Thanks to dedicated sneaker wranglers Wally Slynko and Stephen Peletz, there will continue to be drop off points at the Seneca Park Zoo and Monroe County’s ROC Facility (Building 15), located at 444 E. Henrietta Road. Remember, you can bring in any brand, as long as they have no metal grommets or cleats. And of course, no “light-up” sneakers please. Not only is this a great program for the environment, but it is also a great way to put your favorite old sneakers back into action.

More Info

• Nike Reuse-a-Shoe
• EPA
• NYS - DEC
• American Plastics Council
• National Recycling Coalition
• Newspaper Association of America