Sustainability Week 2025
This article is part of a series of sustainability-themed articles we’re running to observe Earth Day 2025 and promote more sustainable practices. Check out all of our Sustainability Week 2025 content.
There comes a time when that go-to Parkrun shoe or reliable marathon training partner doesn’t feel quite as spritely as it once did when you first broke them out of the box. Your first thought likely might be to simply toss them into the nearest bin. Doing that though will likely see it join other rubbish in landfill, where it’ll be burned and end up producing greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global heating.
The more responsible action to take would be to swap dumping for recycling and give those retired runners a new lease of life. Thankfully, there are now a good amount of ways to do that – so if you’re starting to think twice about your running shoe disposal methods once it’s time to upgrade, this should give you some inspiration on what to do with your best running shoes when it’s time to let them go.
1. Donate them
There are now a fair few organizations that will take your old running shoes and give them to those that can still put them to good use. The likes of Sneakers4Good in the US, or JogOn and Preloved Sports in the UK are among those services you can use when taking this approach.
JogOn for example, partners with running outlets like SportsShoes.com and Start Fitness. It’ll let you send single or multiple pairs of shoes (up to 30 at a time), inspect the shoes to see if they still have some mileage left in them, then JogOn will send them out to charities and organizations that can donate shoes to those that need them the most. It costs £2 to send your box of shoes; JogOn will also take football boots and hiking boots if you have any of those lying about not getting used anymore as well.
You can of course look to charity shops as well, though the above options will likely make sure your shoes get onto the feet of other runners and those that will be grateful that they can lace up your old runners.
2. Recycle them at a running shop
There are running shops you go to to drop off your shoes where they’ll be recycled and reused and crucially, not added to landfill. Nike operates its own Recycle & Donation program, allowing you to drop off any brand of running shoe into a participating Nike store, and Nike will either donate them to its nonprofit partners or use the materials as part of its recycling services such as Nike Grind, which takes materials such as foam, rubber and textile scrap from end-of-life shoes and uses them in the construction of Nike Grind products.
A minimum of 20% of materials used in the construction of Nike’s Air Zoom Superrep 2 shoe are Nike Grind products. Rubber from parts like the outsole of old shoes can make its way onto basketball courts and playgrounds, like the one in China’s Dakui town in the image above. Cushioning foams are sent to companies that can use it for surface designs, while shoe fluff is burned to recover energy from it by a waste-to-energy vendor.
Editor’s Note: Nike’s credentials, analyzed
A Chinese research paper titled Sustainable Supply Chain Development Strategies in the Fast Fashion Industry: A Case Study of Nike, published in October 2024, has positive things to say about Nike’s initiatives. The paper states Nike “has positively contributed to supply chain sustainability by promoting a circular economy, establishing a green supply chain and optimizing inventory.” However, other analyses are less complimentary: one 2019 paper from the University of Queensland, Australia, states Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program and Nike Grind “have limited potential in achieving any significant positive environmental impact” and the company should investigate other models.
Swiss outfit On recently launched its On Cyclon subscription service where you’ll essentially rent one of its more sustainably-made running shoes. Once worn out, the shoe can be replaced with a new one, while the older shoe is used to make new shoe parts.
RunnersNeed in the UK operates its Recycle My Run recycling service, which is free to use and simply requires you to leave your shoes in one of its collection bins in-store. It has partnered with the Phoenix Resource Centre to inspect the shoes where the good ones are reused and end-of-life shoes are are dismantled into raw materials and then shipped to UK industries to use in place of new materials.
3. Get them repaired
Maybe you’re not quite ready to let go just yet and can opt to get your faves repaired instead of buying a new pair. There are now places that can repair your running shoes like NuShoe in the US and The Key Cobbler, both willing to replace grippy Vibram outsoles commonly found on a host of trail shoes made by the likes of Nike, INOV8, Hoka and Brooks.
There are some running shoe brands that will repair those shoes for you like Vivobarefoot and its Revivo program. You can send your worn out Vivobarefoot shoes to be deep cleaned or resoled. Alternatively, Vivobarefoot lets you trade worn-out shoes from any brand to get 20% off a pair or more repair-friendly Vivobarefoot ones.
4. Repurpose them for non-running activities
They may have lost their magic when you’re trying to hunt out a marathon PB, but that doesn’t mean they no longer deserve a place on your feet when not heading out for a run. If the cushioning is shot and the upper is starting to show signs of bad wear, why not reserve them for activities that don’t require those elements to be in tip-top condition?
Reserve them for gardening or keep them for the gym to use where you know they’ll be comfortable enough for workouts that don’t necessarily require the best gym shoes for maximum support, or that protective cushioning to be in optimal shape.
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