National sports agency, Sport Singapore (SportSG) announced that it will be collaborating with material science company Dow to collect and transform shoes into public fitness infrastructure.

Turning 300,000 pairs of used shoes into useful materials

A "first of its kind" in Asia Pacific, the project aims to recycle 300,000 pairs of used sports shoes and the recycled material will be used to build jogging tracks, fitness corners and playgrounds.

The project will ground rubberised soles and midsoles into rubber granules to build the sports infrastructure, partially replacing hazardous recycled tires.

The recycled rubber granules will then be bound together using a water-based and solvent-free binder technology, that is allegedly better for the environment and safe for use as sports infrastructure.

The concept has already been tested out earlier this year by Dow and B.T. Sports in a pilot project in the yet to be unveiled Kallang Football Hub, where recycled sports shoes were used to construct an area of 200 square metres.

Reduces load on Pulau Semakau landfill

While market research company Statista estimates that 22 million pairs of shoes are sold in Singapore yearly, the National Environment Agency indicated that 161,000 tonnes of textile and leather waste were disposed of last year.

Of that 161,000 tonnes of textile and leather waste in 2019, only 4 percent was recycled.

SportSG CEO Lim Teck Yin said besides contributing to new infrastructures, this initiative will help to "reduce the load on landfills".

He added that SportSG hopes this collaboration will "bring about ripple effects with more partners in promoting shared aspirations in sustainability through sport”.

Jon Penrice, Dow President for Asia Pacific also described how such initiatives will contribute to a sustainable future via principles of the circular economy:

“As we move away from a make-use-dispose society into one where circularity becomes ever more relevant today, collaborating with partners across the value chain such as Sport Singapore and the community is critical. We all have a role to play if we want a better outcome for the environment.”

Contribute your unwanted sports shoes to 30 collection points islandwide

According to a media release by SportSG, the collection of used shoes start on Sep. 26, and will end on Nov. 30.

Members of the public can donate their used sports shoes at 30 public collection spots across the island, which include:

• 20 ActiveSG Sports Centres and Stadiums
• Five selected Decathlon stores
• Four JD Sports stores
• The Heeren Office Tower

You can view the full list of collection points here.

Here's an example of a collection box for shoes, as seen by Mothership on Sep. 30 at the second level of the Decathlon store at Centrepoint in Orchard:

More information on the project can be found here.

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Top images via Sport Singapore/FB and Sumita Thiagarajan