TimesLeader.com

March 7

Recycling shoes gives kids running start

Wyoming Valley Montessori School project introduces students to conservation.

By Rory Sweeney rsweeney@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

KINGSTON – Kaelin Kirchner offered her old Sketchers for the cause, while Owen Seger donated his Air Raiders and Philip Ouellette his Rocket Dogs.

Beyond bottles and cans, the students at the Wyoming Valley Montessori School are recycling the shoes off their feet, and they’re hoping others will clean out their shoe closets to help clean up the world.

Kara Taylor and the 32 first- through third-graders she teaches are collecting old athletic shoes to recycle into a variety of products, including athletic surfaces and even new shoes. Sponsored by Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program, the students are collecting worn-out shoes that will eventually find their way to the company’s processing plant in Wilsonville, Ore., where they’ll be chopped into materials the company calls Nike Grind.

The plant separates the shoes into three pieces. The rubber soles are ground up for track, playground and gym-flooring materials, along with new shoe soles, buttons and zipper pulls. The foam midsoles become cushion for outdoor basketball and tennis courts, while the fabric uppers are used for indoor basketball and volleyball courts and equestrian surfacing products.

Taylor came upon the idea around Christmas after reading about a similar project in Philadelphia. “Immediately, I thought, ‘Wow, this is what we’re all about,’” she said. “This is exactly what we do every day.”

Students learn about pollution, ecology and environmental consciousness in class, she said, by recycling food containers, and they develop those concepts at home. “Usually, we recycle apple sauce cans (at school). We wash it out and put it in the bin,” said Josh DiPippa, 8, a third-grader from Wilkes-Barre. “My mom usually throws out apple sauce cups, and I say, ‘You could recycle that.’”

But recycling can be more complex and intricate. Upper grades run recycling drives for ink cartridges and cell phones, Taylor said, and shoes are a good way to introduce those ideas to younger students, who get to hand out bumper stickers and pins to people who donate shoes.

The distinction isn’t lost on the young minds. “Instead of making it (the shoes) into a playground, they usually bury (them) under the playground,” said Ouellette, 8, a second-grader from Shavertown.

“It helps the environment so it’s not just such a big dump,” said 7-year-old Emma Janosczyk, a second-grader from White Haven.

The collection bins will be available at the school throughout March.

Because Nike has just two processing facilities, the drive can deliver only 200 pairs of shoes to the Nike store in Tannersville, but families can mail in up to 10 pairs apiece separately, Taylor said.

Parents are involved in the project at school, as well. Julia Byriel and Emily Seger have been manning scissors to remove metal pieces from the shoes.

The motivation is to “help the kids,” Seger said, “but mostly to keep shoes out of the landfill.”

In its first week, the program has already collected a few dozen pairs of shoes.

Where to drop off old shoes

Used shoe drop off hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the school, located at 851 W. Market St., Kingston.

TO LEARN MORE

To find out about Nike’s shoe-recycling program, go to www.nikereuseashoe.com.

Rory Sweeney, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7418.