To help “kick-off” recycling and waste reduction programs this fall, the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority teamed up with Nike Reuse-A-Shoe to conduct sneaker drives in local schools. The initiative was offered to all public and private K-12 school buildings in Oneida and Herkimer Counties. Schools were asked to collect as many worn out sneakers as possible, instead of throwing them in the trash.  Then, OHSWA collected and sent the sneakers to Nike Reuse-A-Shoe to be recycled into rubber, foam and fiber materials used for building new places, such as playgrounds, running tracks, football fields, basketball courts and more.

The purpose of this program was to continue to raise student and community awareness of reducing, reusing and recycling. Fifteen schools in our region participated in the program this fall. Many schools had Student Councils, Green Teams, and other Environmental Clubs take charge of the program. “Some schools developed contests for the program that helped increase participation and awareness as well,” said Jamie Tuttle, Authority School Recycling Coordinator. “Keeping students thinking and excited about recycling only helps us spread awareness and increase recycling efforts.”

Through promoting this program, students have been motivated to think “outside of the box” and realize that there are many items outside of paper, plastic, metal and glass that can be reused or recycled. “Once items are past the point of being reused, we hope that our residents look to our many recycling opportunities before they settle for the trash can,” stated Tuttle. This initiative has allowed schools in our region to work together for the same cause—promoting environmental stewardship, diverting waste from our landfill and conserving natural resources and energy.

The cooperative efforts between participating schools proved to be successful as OHSWA collected almost 1,000 pairs of sneakers from participating schools during the last week of November. The amount of sneakers collected weighed approximately 1 ton. “The schools that participated should be very proud,” continued Tuttle. “This is a perfect example of how people can come together to make a big difference through simple actions.”