How often do you see a fresh idea to help save the planet run out of momentum and splutter to a halt? All the more reason to get excited when Australia does take to an idea and run with it.

To kick off National Recycling Week, 7-14 November, TreadLightly announced that Aussies have run from Canberra to Sydney and beyond with their shoe recycling initiative – recycling enough sports shoes to pave 360km.

Since June last year, the TreadLightly bins have collected over 600,000 pairs of unwanted sports and active lifestyle shoes.

The old shoes have since been given new life as change room flooring and gym mats across the country.

The national recycling initiative, powered by the Australian Sporting Goods Association (ASGA) and recycler, Save Our Soles (SOS), is now calling for another push from Aussies.

They are just over halfway towards reaching their target of one million shoes recycled by 30 June 2023.

Executive Director of ASGA, Shaun Bajada, said National Recycling Week is the perfect time to spread awareness of the bins, as training shoes can take up to 1000 years to break down in landfill.

“It’s a good reminder to go through your wardrobe to find any old sports or active lifestyle shoes that you no longer need,” he says.

Due to the popularity of the bins, TreadLightly has been increasing their recycling volume every month.

“We’ve gone from recycling 1,000 kg per month to around 12,000 kg per month,” reports Mr Bajada.

However, they are still keen to ramp up collections even more over the next six months to reach their million-shoe goal.

“We are calling on Aussies to step up on socials to help raise awareness: film a fun workout in your old trainers or take a selfie dropping them off to the collection units and feel good knowing you’re contributing to saving the planet,” he says.

To help keep unwanted shoes out of landfill this National Recycling Week – or anytime – simply head to one of TreadLightly’s 600 collection points across Australia.

Canberrans can do their bit for the planet by dropping off their old sport shoes at Rebel Canberra Centre, Westfield Woden or Belconnen, and in Canberra Outlet at the Asics, Converse, and New Balance stores.

Find your local collection point at treadlightly.asga.com.au/collection-locations/

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