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Green Sneakers
Just because you can't run marathons in your running shoes anymore doesn't mean that they aren't good for something.  Last year alone, Americans discarded more than 300 million pairs of shoes.  Save your old athletic shoes and choose a new use for them.  If they are in good enough shape, someone else may be able to wear them.  You can donate them to a reuse center like The Salvation Army or Goodwill.  Another option it to donate them to an organization that takes gently used shoes and passes them on to those in need.      

If your shoes are worn out, they can still live a new life as a community sports surface or playground.  Nike's Reuse-a-shoe program accepts all brands of athletic shoes.  There are over 300 collection boxes in the U.S. where you can drop off your shoes (see their website for locations and shipping information - www.NikeReuseAShoe.com).  You can also mail them into the company or make a bigger impact by organizing a shoe drive for your school or non-profit organization.

What Makes It Green?
Keeping old shoes "in use" and out of landfills is good for the planet.  Nike's Reuse-a-shoe and grind programs recycle all aspects of running shoes and turn them into something new.  The rubber, foam & uppers are separated and each part is ground to be used in different surfaces.  The rubber is turned into track surfaces, gym floors & playgrounds.  The foam is used in cushioning for outdoor basketball and tennis courts.  The shoe's upper section is made into cushioning pads for indoor basketball, volleyball courts and equestrian surfacing products.  

Recycling your used shoes is also good for the community because others can benefit from your "trash".  People in need can receive gently used shoes from one of many non-profit organizations.  The Let Me Play program at Nike also donates the "grind" from their recycled shoes and manufacturing scraps to communities.  To date, almost 300 sports surfaces have been donated through Let Me Play and thousands of others through Nike's commercial efforts.  

What You Can Do
Save your old shoes and donate them for a new use.  

o    Soles4Souls - Aid relief efforts for natural disasters like Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and the Asian Tsunami. Has distributed over 4 million pairs to people in 125 countries. Sponsor a shoe drive, take your shoes to a drop off location or ship them to one of their warehouse facilities. You can find more information at www.soles4souls.org.
o    Share Your Soles - Organize a shoe drive or take your own shoes to one of over 120 drop off locations across the U.S. You can also ship them to their processing center in Illinois.  For a drop off location near you or the mailing address, check out their website at www.shareyoursoles.org.
o    One World Running - A group of runners in Boulder, Colorado sends running shoes to runners in need around the world.  They have drop off locations in 5 states and Canada (see their website for locations - www.oneworldrunning.blogspot.com).  Any shoes that are beat up and not worthy of wear are sent to Nike's Reuse-a-shoe program.

Nike has collected and recycled over 24 million athletic shoes since 1990.

My son's elementary school just held a shoe drive for the Nike Reuse-a-shoe program.  The kids all had a great time bringing in their used shoes and finding out about how they will be "transformed" into playgrounds, tracks and basketball courts.