Up and Running, which specialises in tailoring new running shoes to the specific shape of a customer's foot and their running pattern, has now introduced collection facilities for old shoes in all 16 of its stores nationwide.
The shoes are collected and recycled by the Croydon and Manchester-based European Recycling Company, which collects all types of waste shoes from retailers and local authorities across the UK.
Jonathan Midwood, the Up and Running's general manager, explained that when customers were being assessed for new running shoes, some wanted to know what to do with their old shoes.
He said: “One of our stores – in Harrogate – was next door to a shop that had a collection bin from the European Recycling Company – so we used to go next door and use it from time to time. Then we decided that it was a good idea to do it ourselves in all our stores.”
The European Recycling Company provided the stores with small collection containers free of charge and collects the shoes either on a weekly or monthly basis, as well as by same-day request.
Popular
Collections at Up and Running stores have proved popular with customers so far, Mr Midwood said, particularly since the service also raises money for the children's charity The Variety Club.
In the first month of the scheme each shop has been recycling about two or three bags of shoes each month, with some customers also bringing non-running shoes to recycle in the stores.
Mr Midwood added: “We're also able to recycle our faulty returns through the system – we are running a 21-day trial, where customers can try a shoe and if they are not happy they can be simply exchanged. Some manufacturers are unwilling to accept faulty returns back, so in those cases we can recycle them.”
Nationwide, the European Recycling Company collects about 2,000 tonnes of shoes from over 3,000 sites according to development co-ordinator Chris Walker. Mr Walker's role at the company is to encourage retailers to accept recycling containers and he said about 90% of the firms he contacts are interested in doing so.
Local authorities
As well as retailers, Mr Walker said their service has also been well-received among local authorities. He said: “It's been very popular among local authorities, and we transfer the weights of the shoes to the council in the area where they were collected so that they can go towards the council's government recycling targets.”
Mr Walker said once the shoes are collected, they are exported to Dubai, where they are sorted for suitability and then reused or refurbished by local traders for sale in developing countries across the world.
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