An estimated 15,000 used athletic shoes collected in Tempe over the last four years were picked up the morning of July 21 and recycled for their next life as sports and playground surfaces.

The city of Tempe, in partnership with the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe Program and the National Recycling Coalition (NRC), collects and recycles any brand of used athletic shoes. The collected shoes are recycled, ground up and used in the creation of new sports and playground surfaces.

(photo by Skip Neely)

The first-ever load of shoes from Tempe—about 15,000 shoes—was picked up for recycling last month at the city’s Public Works Field Services yard at 55 S. Priest Drive. The pallets holding boxes full of Tempe citizens’ used athletic footwear were loaded via forklift onto a semi-truck.

The idea to participate in Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe Program was first introduced in a City Council Committee chaired by Councilman Ben Arredondo. Arizona State University coordinated the first collection on Earth Day 2004. Since then, it has been a true community effort, with Tempe residents and others recognizing the value of the program and dropping off their worn-out athletic shoes.

Tempe’s collected shoes traveled to the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe recycling center in Wilsonville, Ore., where they will be processed into a material called Nike Grind. The product is then used by Nike’s licensed partner companies for creating athletic surfaces, such as tennis and basketball courts.

Tempe recently paid to resurface its tennis courts at the Kiwanis Recreation Center using Nike Grind material. The surface was installed by Nike Grind licensee Rebound Ace. The resulting surface is environmentally friendly and its cushioned feel is often praised for being easy on players’ joints.

Tempe will continue collecting shoes as part of its overall recycling efforts. There are seven permanent locations where anyone can drop off shoes:

* Arc Thrift Store, 201 W. Southern Ave., Suite 39

* ASU Student Recreation Center, 400 E. Apache Blvd.

* Kiwanis Recreation Center 6111 S. All-America Way

* Tempe Public Library, 3500 S. Rural Road

* Tempe South Police Substation, 8201 S. Hardy Drive

* University Presbyterian Church, 139 E. Alameda Drive

* Westside Multigenerational Center, 715 W. Fifth St.

For more information, visit www.nikereuseashoe.com and www.nikego.com.