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The Hills Reduce Reuse Recycle Directory
Electronic equipment
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Shoes & Socks
Over 100 million pairs of shoes are brought into Australia each year; most of which we can predict end up as landfill. BUT now they can be recycled too. The Australian Sporting Goods Association in partnership with Save Our Soles (Re branded in 2021 to Tread Lightly ) have recycled over one million sporting and active lifestyle shoes . More recently they have begun recycling formal leather school shoes and even gumboots. Footwear is made into crumbs which are used to make flooring such as flooring for change rooms, gyms, anti fatigue mats and even playgrounds. If your shoes are still in good wearable condition they can go to op shops. Donate shoes that you would be happy for a friend to wear. See below for where to recycle your shoes and details on accepted shoes.
Reuse
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Sell on Buy swap and sell.
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Swap parties
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Soccor and Football boots can often be swapped at your local club. Leave the ones you have grown out of for someone else and search for a pair that fit. Contact your local club. Put on Buy nothing pages
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Donate shoes in good wearable condition to an OP Shop.
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Repair
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Marks Quaility Shoe Repair Ferntree Gully
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Nikos shoe repair Upper Ferntree Gully
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Pete the Cobbler Monbulk
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Minit Shoe repairs Lilydale
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Recycle
Tread Lightly- accept sporting shoes and active lifestyle shoes as well as leather school shoes, and gumboots at Rebel sport stores at Fountain Gate, Knox and Chirnside park For more businesses locations collecting with Tread lightly and more accepted shoes, see
treadlightly.asga.com.au/what-we-take/
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Recycle your Socks and Shoes with UPPARELOther clothes can also be recycled via a paid for pickup service. Items need to be clean and packed in a cardboard box. Many shoes are sent for reuse. Receive a voucher for spending with Upparel or Target. You can even send your PVC Gumboots with your clothing pack or post/drop these directly to Bata Shoes In Mornington where they will be recycled into new gumboots ( 50 % recycled content)
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Totally Work Wear Work Boot Recycling
when purchasing a new pair of work boots from Totally Work Wear, bring your old work boots for recycling and you can get a discount of $15 on new work boots. The rubber and leather is ground up and used for rubber flooring and playgrounds etc metal is also recovered
Participating outlets at Berwick, Knoxfield,
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Etiko Take Back Sneaker and thongs Recycling
You can Take Back your old ETIKO sneakers and thongs for recycling at their Brunswick store store or post back and receive a voucher for your next purchase.
The rubber soles are ground up and used in flooring by Melbourne recycler Save Our Souls.
Repurpose
Its always fun to browse through the repurposeing ideas on the net. Make slippers using soles from old shoes or thongs.
