Joe Hornaday
It began in January and was supposed to end March 1, but the deadline has been extended for residents to help out the Greensburg Night Bloomer’s Garden Glub and the Nike Recycling Project.
Last month, the garden club began its attempt to collect 100 pairs of shoes as part of Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program, which partners with community groups like the garden club to accumulate worn-out athletic shoes of any brand for recycling, group president Emily Kuntz explained.
Shoes that are collected in the United States for the program are all processed at Nike’s recycling center in Woodburn, Ore.
“The shoes are ground up and divided into three different raw materials; rubber from the outsole, foam from the midsole and fabric from the upper,” Kuntz said.
Those materials are then known as “Nike Grind.” The shoe company also recycles scrap materials from its manufacturing facilities in Nike Grind. Nike then partners with surfacing companies to create sport and playground surfaces from the recycled material, like tracks, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts, synthetic turf and playgrounds. Nike Grind is also used in some of Nike’s popular products.
Nike first began recycling shoes in 1990, and the Reuse-A-Shoe program officially launched in 1993. It has been one of Nike's longest-running environmental programs. According to company figures, more than 21 million pairs of shoes have been collected. To reduce the Reuse-A-Shoe program's environmental footprint, Nike ships the shoes in the most efficient means possible.
“That’s why we are taking our shoes to an official Reuse-A-Shoe collection point for more efficient, large-scale shipping,” Kuntz said.
Nike is also currently working to increase its recycling facilities' capacity and to incorporate Nike Grind into more new Nike products. Until the program's capacity increases, the local shoe drive is only collecting 100 pairs of shoes.
According to Kuntz, the group needs about 70 more pairs of shoes to reach the 100 mark.
"If you decide to bring shoes to a drop-off location during the drive, please do not bring more than 10 pairs of shoes at a time,” Kuntz said.
Drop-off locations are currently inside the Decatur County Family YMCA and North Decatur High School. Kuntz added that buttons and stickers are available at both of the donation sites, and that shoes with metal pieces and accessories cannot be accepted. To make large donations, first contact the YMCA at 663-9622.
