Advice
Give your old running shoes a second life - recycle them!
Did you know over 50 million pairs of running shoes are brought in the UK every year?
Not really that surprising, if you are anything like us you will go through 2-3 pairs of running shoes per year.
Often there is very little wrong with them; they are just no longer suitable for running. However, rather than throwing them in the bin our guess is that you "put them aside" as a second pair for the occasional off-road run, walking or some DIY.
Now is the crucial part, what happens to the "reserve" shoes that have now been relegated into third place? They go in the bin and often end up on a rubbish dump or incinerated.
Not only is this bad for the environment, how could you do that to your old running shoes? After all they have done for you!
Recycling old shoes is now easier than ever and gives your running shoes a second life. Although old running shoes have very little use to you (perhaps some nostalgic value!) they can be of considerable benefit to others.
They can be reconditioned and reused, often providing footwear to people in third world countries who would otherwise go without.
There are thousands of collection points throughout the UK. Please click here to locate your nearest recycling bank.
P.S: Before you donate your old shoes be sure to tie them together in pairs as one shoe is not much use to anyone!
Failing that, pairs of shoes in good condition can be donated to charity shops:
Charities like Oxfam, Save The Children, Barnado's, Age Concern and Cancer Research have chains of high street shops; or one of our favourite retailers, UpandRunning will also collect your old running shoes in any of their 21 stores and donate them to charity. For further information please click here.