Reuse-A-Shoe at Rice

The Student Recycling Council (SRC) initiated the Reuse-A-Shoe program in the Rice community in April 2005. Reuse-A-Shoe is a program, co-sponsored by Nike and the National Recycling Coalition, that allows communities to recycle a new product and to become reinvigorated in local recycling programs. When shoes are collected, Nike will recycle the shoes into Nike Grind. This unique ground-up material is then used to resurface athletic fields, courts, tracks and playgrounds. Since the program began in 1993, some 15 million pairs of shoes have been recycled.

On the Rice campus, shoes are collected in bins located in the men's and women's locker rooms at the Recreation Center and in the residential college laundry rooms. 50 pairs of shoes were collected in the program's first month at Rice. Shoes collected at Rice are transported to Luke's Locker, a nearby retail store, where they are either donated to charities (athletic and non-athletic shoes in good condition) or sent off to Nike (athletic shoes in poor condition). All brands of athletic shoes are accepted. The SRC hopes to increase publicity for the program in the 2005-06 school year, reaching out to students, faculty, Recreation Center members, and the athletics department.