Topic: shoe recycling

As an avid runner (and one with a mild addiction to sportswear), I’ve accumulated a pile of running shoes that’s larger than appropriate for my pint-sized Brooklyn apartment. I’ve dispersed my collection by stockpiling extra pairs at my office and other peoples’ houses (thanks, Mom!), but even after I’ve exhausted their mileage, I cling to them and tell myself they’ll come in handy the next time I volunteer on a muddy farm or paint a house. They’ve come in handy exactly once in the past two years, but otherwise, they mostly act as dust bunny-magnets and doorstops.

As I put summer clothes into storage, fluff up my sweaters for Fall, and prep my annual load of cast-offs for a trip to Buffalo Exchange, all those used running shoes are starting to taunt me: I can’t really sell them, and they don’t make for great hand-me-downs. But with a little research, I found a few places that would be glad to take my used running shoes and make much, much better use of them than the back corner of my closet. More »