Sneaker Recycling

Sneakers may be brought to the Tompkins County Recycling and Solid Waste Drop-off Center, Monday through Saturday from 7 am to 3:30 pm at 160 Commercial Ave, Ithaca.

Please note:

• Only athletic sneakers may be recycled,
• All metal, including metal eyelets, must first be removed,
• Sneakers that light up are not accepted,
• Shoelaces may be included,
• Shoes should not be tied together.

About the program:

TCSW is working in conjunction with Monroe County Department of Environmental Services to recycle sneakers through the Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe Program. Nike's program was created in 1993 and has since recycled over 16 million pairs of shoes. The program focuses on collecting both used and defective sneakers, as well as byproducts from the manufacturing process.

How it works:

Once the two counties have collected approximately 5,000 pairs of shoes, Nike will send a trailer to retrieve them. Once loaded on the trailer, they are taken to a processing facility where each shoe will be separated into three materials: the upper fabric, midsole foam, and outsole rubber. Each of these products will be ground up to create three distinct types of material that can then be recycled into new equipment. 

• Outsole rubber can be remanufactured into baseball and soccer fields, in addition to golf products, weight room flooring and running tracks. Since 1999, almost 6.5 million pounds of recycled rubber have been shipped for use in athletic fields.
• Midsole foam can be remanufactured to make synthetic basketball courts, tennis courts, and playground surfacing.
• Upper fabric includes textile and leather uppers, and can be used for padding under hardwood basketball floors.

Approximately how many pairs of shoes does it take to make a. . .

• Outdoor basketball court: 2,500
• Outdoor tennis court: 2,500
• Running track: 75,000
• Playground: 2,500

For more information, please visit the Nike website.

This program is currently in its pilot stage. For more information, please call 273-6632.