Wondering what to do with your old sneakers? Sure you can donate them to neighborhood kids so they can toss them up and over telephone lines, but what if we told you your old New Balance could be used to construct a soccer pitch for communities seeking to engage youth into doing something more positive with their time? Nike has recycled more than 21 million pairs of sweat-rank kicks in order to build sports courts throughout inner city communities.

Throughout Los Angeles, underserved Hispanic communities are being improved through a fantastic combination of recycling technology and sports.

It’s Nike that’s ‘kicked off’ this unprecedented recycling effort. In a program likely to educate and inspire children to recycle beyond bottles and cans, the Oregon-based athletic footwear and clothing giant has developed an intriguing process for turning old shoes into sports courts.

Now, the courts are only comprised of 20% of this material, but the attention given to enhancing communities’ fields means getting kids off the streets and into soccer kits, and/or basketball and tennis courts, provides a safer environment in communities that are stil developing. So, yay! But how do they do it, and how can you get involved?

People can donate any brand of old athletic shoes at many locations, including Nike stores, other retail outlets, gyms, and schools. Shoes can even be sent to Nike in the mail. Then Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program pulverizes different parts of the shoes and ends up with a substance called “Nike Grind.” This recycled material accounts for up to 20 percent of the playground, basketball, tennis, and other sports surfaces that Nike, with partners, is donating to needy neighborhoods.

Inner-city Los Angeles neighborhoods have been reaping the benefits of this lately, so the next time you’re hitting up a pick-up game in South Los Angeles, you could be slide-tackling on someone’s old (new) Stephon Marbury’s. Hopefully this will catch on all across the nation.

Nike Turns Worn-out Shoes into Greener Blacktops and a Brighter Tomorrow [Hispanic Biz]
Image [Hispanic Biz]