So, the entryway to your house is cluttered and over-filled with shoes.
After binging “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” on Netflix, you’re determined to dump away items that no longer spark joy.
Normally, we would throw them away in our regular dustbin chute. Or if those items are recyclable, into the blue recycling bins they go.
What if I tell you that there’s now going to be an orange recycle bin specifically for used pairs of sports shoes?
You may question: Okay, there’s already a blue recycle bin. So why the need to permanently do up another kind of recycle bin? Is it just the same thing in a different colour?
Well, read on to find out more.
Public Can Donate Used Sports Shoes for Recycling From 5 Jul
This initiative is a collaboration between national sports agency Sport Singapore (SportSG) and leading American materials science company Dow.
From 5 July onwards, a permanent shoe waste collection programme will kick off.
There will be over 100 collection points across Singapore including participating ActiveSG sports centres, stadiums, and Decathlon stores.
And if you’re a student, you’re in luck. The orange-top bins will also be situated in certain schools and tertiary institutions.
Apart from just sports shoes, the following footwear are also eligible for donation:
- School shoes
- Football boots
- Rubberised slippers
- Rubberised sandals
Do take note though that if there are any metal studs or parts, they should be removed.
Initiative Aims to Recycle 170,000 Pairs of Used Sports Shoes A Year
You might still feeling baffled at this point and thinking to yourself, “Why would they even want my used pair of sports shoes?”
The short answer: it’s for a good cause!
With the recycled sports shoes, the material can then be used to build sports facilities. Some of them include jogging tracks, playgrounds, and fitness corners. Pretty neat right?
From November to September last year, the pilot project received a favourable outcome, with more than 75,000 pairs of shoes collected.
FYI, that’s about 3.3km of jogging track built!
This year, 170,000 pairs of used sports shoes are aimed to be recycled.
Everyday Sustainability
Announcing the project at the virtual event, Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment mentioned, “We see waste not as something to be thrown away, but as a precious resource to be harvested.”
“By making sustainability a part of our everyday lives, we can turn old shoes into a better future,” she added.
Previously, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has said that out of 137,000 tonnes of textile and leather waste produced in Singapore in 2020, only 4% of them were recycled.
Lest you’re unaware, Singapore’s only offshore landfill is at Semakau. It is slated to be fully filled by 2035.
Yup, fully filled. In just another 14 more years.
Small actions make a world of difference. If we all chip in to do our part in this shoe recycling project, the lifespan of Semakau may be vastly extended.
Feature Image: 5 second Studio / Shutterstock.com
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