Athletic Shoe Recycling
The Stanford Recycling Center accepts sneakers and athletic shoes for reuse and recycling at the Drop Off Center at 701 Serra Street on the Stanford University Campus.
Hate to throw away an old pair of tennis shoes? Do something good for the earth and recycle your used athletic shoes.
What do we accept
We accept relatively clean and dry sneakers and athletic shoes. We ask that the pairs of shoes be tied together for easier and faster sorting.
What do we not accept
No dress shoes, flip-flops, sandals, boots, hiking boots or shoes with lights. No wet or muddy shoes - they cause the rest of the shoes to get moldy.
What happens to them?
First, we take clean reusable shoes and donate them to non-profit sports organizations. Our last load, we sent over 500 shoes to Afghanistan through a Palo Alto non-profit organization called From our Feet.
The shoes that are not reusable are shipped to a Nike recycling facility in Oregon where they are ground up and used to make athletic surfaces including tracks, weight room flooring and playground surfaces.
Three distinct types of Nike Grind material (upper fabric, midsole foam and outsole rubber) are made, each of which is used in a different way to make new sports surfaces. In addition, Nike also uses some of the byproducts from the manufacturing of outsoles of new Nike shoes as Nike Grind rubber.
For more information on Nike’s innovative program, visit Nike's Environmental Programs.
In 2006, we sorted through 1134 pairs of shoes. We were able to send 584 shoes (284 adult shoes and 330 kids shoes) to Afghanistan through a Palo Alto non-profit organization called From our Feet.
Metro Sport in Town and Country Village on El Camino in Palo Alto helped us to send 550 shoes for recycling. We estimated that we diverted 1515 pounds from the landfill!
New Stadium Recycling Program
In 2004, PSSI/Stanford Recycling was awarded a grant by the California Department of Conservation, Division of Recycling to establish a bottle and can recycling program at the Stanford Stadium. Working in partnership with the Department of Athletics, PSSI/Stanford Recycling implemented a collection program for bottles and cans and corrugated cardboard. We placed a bottle and can recycling bin next to each trash can throughout the stadium. We also provided cardboard recycling dumpsters around the stadium and enlisted the support of Stanford Concessions to recycle their cardboard.
In choosing our recycling bins we used the following criteria: the bins had to 1) be able to handle a large volume, 2) be aesthetically pleasing, 3) be able to be emptied manually as well as in an automated way for flexibility during games and efficiency after games, and 4) have restricted openings to reduce contamination. In addition, we lined the recycling bins with clear plastic bags and the garbage bins with dark plastic bags.
The clean up crews used clear plastic bags to collect bottles and cans and a dark plastic bag to collect trash in the stands after the game was over. Bags of recyclables were then consolidated in roll-off boxes and taken to the on-campus sorting facility. The recycling bins were emptied by an automated truck.
We promoted the new recycling program through container labels, ads in the football program, radio announcements, video on the video scoreboard, on-field promotion, and participating in FanFest.
During the first season of the recycling program, the attendance at the football games average about 22,501 people for a total of 135,000 people at a total of six games. An average of 4750 plastic bottles of water and soda were sold at each of the six games for a total of 28,500. We were able to recycle 3059 pounds of primarily plastic water bottles although there were some aluminum and glass containers.
We look forward to another successful season of recycling bottles and cans and cardboard at the Stanford Stadium. Go Cardinals!
| Video: Below is a link to the promotional video that is shown during the football games to promote the stadium's recycling program. This was created and produced by Stanford Athletics. |
Recycling at the Stadium Promotional Video
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For more information about the Stadium Recycling Program including pictures of the recycling bins, click here.
New Food Waste Collection and Composting Program on Campus
PSSI/Stanford Recycling started the food waste pilot program at Wilbur Hall in January 2003. In Janaury 2004, we expanded the program to include all the major dining halls. In January 2005, Tresidder Union and the Faculty Club were added. We plan to expand the program to include Row Housing kitchens, cafes on campus, and special events. We are currently diverting about 50 tons or 100,000 pounds per month of food waste.
Food waste is collected from all major dining halls on campus and sent to an off-site composting facility. We collect pre consumer food residuals: vegetables, fruits, grain, plant material including flowers from the tables, meats, fish, bones, post consumer organic matter: plate scrappings, coffee grounds, tea bags, and paper: soiled paper and napkins, paper tray mats, and pizza boxes.
Five gallon buckets are used inside the kitchen to collect organic material at each of the prepping stations and 32 gallon bins are used in the dish rooms. These bins are emptied into a 2-4 cubic yard frontloader dumpster at the loading dock that is emptied by PSSI twice a week. The material is mixed with the yard waste collected from campus and hauled to an off-campus composting facility.
Click here to learn more about the Organics Program at Stanford University.
New Materials Added to Recycling Program
As of January 2004, you can now recycle your plastic bags, hardback books,and aseptic containers (milk and juice cartons). Plastic bags may be recycled in the mixed paper recycling bin. Hardback books are now being accepted in the mixed paper recycling bins. Aseptic containers including juice and milk cartons are now being accepted in the bottles and cans recycling bin. For a complete list of acceptable materials that can be placed in the mixed paper and bottle and can recycling bins, click here.
Stanford Awarded
National Recycling Coalition's
Outstanding School Program Award
In September 2002, Stanford University's Recycling Program was awarded the National Recycling Coalition's Outstanding School Program Award. To learn more about it, click here
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