A win for the planetand BalnarringPrimary School

While politicians continue to argue about climate change and sustainability, school students are busy taking action. Last month more than 100 schools took part in TreadLightly’s 2022 National School Recycling Drive. TreadLightly is a new national recycling initiative that’s working closely with Australia’s top sporting and active lifestyle brands to recycle unwanted sports and active lifestyle shoes. The unwanted shoes are diverted from landfill and recycled into useful products such as retail flooring, anti-fatigue mats, and gym and playground surfaces. TreadLightly is powered by the Australian Sporting Goods Association and recycler Save Our Soles.

The top eight schools in the competition collectively diverted five tonnes of shoes from landfill. It is a proud Mornington Peninsula moment to share that the national winner was Balnarring Primary School. The students worked together to collect 798 pairs of shoes, raising awareness by giving a short presentation on TreadLightly to each class to encourage students, parents, teachers, and the wider community to get behind the cause.

“We had an incredible response,” said teacher Kate Large, who leads the school’s Balnarring Environmental Action Team – a group of 15 students who were integral in driving the recycling campaign. “The kids went home and asked their parents, their neighbours, their grandparents for their old shoes. They brought them all in and students then went from class to class collecting the shoes in wheelbarrows.

“Our school is incredibly dedicated to sustainability, and we know kids' feet grow so quickly. This was a perfect opportunity for our school to get on board with an initiative to divert waste from landfill. There’s so much talk about climate anxiety, we like to support the kids to do something about it rather than just worry. This competition was great because they could see the piles of shoes that they’re saving from landfill. We want to empower them, not scare them.”

ASGA executive director Shaun Bajada said TreadLightly was blown away by the interest in the competition and the positive feedback from schools. “It has been great to see so many schools get behind the initiative, coming up with their own creative ways to raise awareness and collect shoes to be recycled,” Shaun said. “We are passionate about helping children to understand the important role they can play in reducing our impact on the planet. Small steps can have a big impact when we work together.”

TreadLightly is being supported by the Federal Government in its bid to recycle more than one million pairs of shoes by June 2023, saving hundreds of tonnes from landfill. Australians can take their preloved footwear to participating retailers and be part of the solution. To find your nearest collection location, go to www.treadlightly.asga.com.au