More people are wearing their recycling thinking caps, so you may be looking at everyday items around your home or office and wonder - “Can I recycle that?”  Some are more obvious than others but here are some items we use in our daily lives that can definitely have an afterlife - if we pass them on.

Just about everyone has at least one pair of old sneakers stuffed in a closet or sitting in the garage.  If they’re in good enough condition - you can always donate them to be worn again.  But if they’re just too tattered, Nike has a fabulous recycling program for your old kicks;  it’s their Reuse a Shoe program.   The shoes are ground up and the material is used to make the spongy surfaces of playgrounds and running tracks.  It’s also used for cusioning indoor basketball, volleyball and tennis courts.  And the outer sole material is recycled to make the soles of new shoes!  So take your old treads to any Nike Factory store or Nike Town in the outlet mall and look for the drop-off box.   Just do it. 

How about that parade of packing peanuts that pop out of a box arriving in the mail or special delivery?   They’re made of polystyrene and can’t be put in the recycle bin, so you can either save them and use them again yourself - OR - take them to a packing and shipping store where they will take them and use them again for their customers.  The Plastic Loose Fill Council actually has a peanut hotline to find participating businesses in our area.  I found that all PostNet stores - mostly found inside Smith’s grocery stores - will gladly take peanuts and other packing supplies for reuse.  Who knows - the next time you open a package, those peanuts could have traveled around the world a few times or more!

Tags: Recycled packing peanuts, recycled sneakers

Categories: Recycling