FEATURE NEWS
Sole traders TreadLightly aims to recycle more than one million pairs of sporting and athletic shoes by June 2023.
AUSTRALIAN SPORTING GOODS ASSOCIATION IS WALKING THE WALK WHEN IT COMES TO RECYCLING AND SUSTAINABILITY. SHAUN BAJADA, ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EXPLAINS.
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ew research shows Australians are stockpiling more than 100 million unused shoes – posing major landfill and environmental concerns. TreadLightly, a new industry-led national recycling initiative powered by the Australian Sporting Goods Association (ASGA) and recycler Save Our Soles (SOS), is giving unwanted sports and active lifestyle shoes a new lease on life as mats and flooring for retail stores, gyms and playgrounds. “TreadLightly exists to solve a very real industry issue,” says Shaun Bajada, ASGA Executive Director. “We’re committed to working closely with retailers, manufacturers and consumers
to reduce the industry’s environmental footprint and to stop millions of shoes ending up as landfill every year. “Over 110 million shoes make their way to Australian shores each year, of which 25 million are sporting and athletic lifestyle footwear. The wider industry, as well as consumers, want to do more to reduce their environmental impact and TreadLightly makes it easy for everyone to do their bit for the planet.” TreadLightly involves pre-loved sports shoes being dropped off at a designated collection unit at participating retailers. Footwear is collected and sent to a recycling plant in Australia for sorting, break-down and
processing. Reusable components are extracted, including rubber, leather and fibres, and reclaimed materials are used to manufacture new products. The program, backed by Federal Government, aims to recycle more than one million pairs of sporting and athletic shoes by June 2023 to save more than 400 tonnes of footwear going to landfill. It might sound ambitious, but Shaun says the program is already walking tall – just three months in – and 40 tonnes of pre-loved shoes were collected nationally. Shaun says 100,000 pairs of shoes were recycled through a pilot program during the COVID-19 pandemic
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