The 'Big Recycle' makes an Even Bigger Impact

Olympic medal-winner, Roger Black, blew his referees whistle for a unique football tournament between local schools. The Hampshire-born athlete watched over matches organised by the ‘Recycle for Hampshire’ campaign at Fleming Park Leisure Centre in Eastleigh on 9 June to end a week of recycling challenges run as part of the National ‘BIG Recycle’ week.

The football tournament followed a week of school visits collecting unwanted shoes and trainers for recycling. In association with The Salvation Army, school children were asked to raid their wardrobes and bring in any outgrown shoes or worn out trainers, for reuse and recycling.

The Recycle for Hampshire team has been touring the county on the ‘Trainer trail’ collecting old shoes and trainers from children at Elson Junior School in Gosport and Oakmeadow School in Fareham. In total the two schools collected an amazing 450kg, which is equal to approximately 900 pairs of shoes and trainers! In a joint project with The Salvation Army, the outgrown shoes will be sent for reuse and old trainers will be sent for recycling, to be chipped down and made into surfaces for sports tracks and playgrounds.

In the UK alone we buy approximately 338 million pairs of shoes a year, yet only 18% are collected for reuse and recycling. Kimpton Primary received a visit from the Recycle for Hampshire team, who as well as picking up the 193 kg of shoes collected by the pupils, created a monster trails of shoes, whilst delivering the recycling message.