"Recycling" old shoes?

Question

This morning, while going through some boxes, I found some old shoes (mostly Converse All Stars) that are way too old and beat up to put in a yard sale or to take to Goodwill or a charity that gives away stuff for people who can't afford anything, like homeless shelters or my church's clothing giveaway.

Yet, I don't want to just dump them in a landfill if I can do something with them. Once, a few years ago, I heard about a program that Nike does-- Take old shoes and recycle them into play ground equipment and stuff.

I checked www.earth911.com and the only results I got for the Columbus, OH zip code (we're moving from a Michigan suburb to Columbus; I may as well move them back, what's one more box?) and just found a couple of listings for Salvation Army.

Anyway, I would appreciate any advice.

Thank you.

Mamabear, thanks. I guess I could have done a search, but for some odd reason, this seemed easier. Eh. I just did one "nike shoe recycling") and got several good looking results. Go figure. I'm kind embarrassed, except for that we may have helped somebody else.

Answer 1

I think this is what you are looking for. A lot of schools run shoe collection drives; perhaps you can find one in your area or better yet, start one. Get a boy or girl scout troop to help.

http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/nikebiz.jhtml?page=27&cat=reuseashoe

Answer 2

clark shops have recycling bins for shoes , they are doing it for blue peter who send them to 3rd world countries

regards