A Dutch recycling company called FastFeetGrinded is trying to stomp out the massive carbon footprint of old shoes.
About 23 billion pairs of shoes are produced globally every year, which means an annual carbon footprint of about 700 million tons of carbon dioxide, according to a study by Quantis, an environmental sustainability consultancy. That's a serious environmental concern, but the good news is that FastFeetGrinded has a viable solution.
Recycling shoes is tricky because there are so many different components and materials, but this company has found a way. Shoes - everything from slippers, to hefty construction shoes, to flip flops - are sorted and the different components that make up a shoe (like rubber, foam and plastic) are separated by machines using heat and friction. Those materials are then shredded into small pieces before being separated by type and then refined into recycled materials ready for reuse.
The foam, rubber and textile granules are then sold to manufacturers to be made back into items such as shoe parts, yoga mats, or flooring for playgrounds and outdoor sports centers. Currently, the company processes about 3,000 shoes an hour, and up to a million per year.
FastFeetGrinded has plans to take its operations international. “The problem is everywhere, so it’s very important to have recycling factories all over the world,” say Danny Pormes, one of the founders of the company.