Thurmont Grange No. 409 has partnered with the GotSneakers initiative to collect sneakers and athletic footwear to be redistributed for wear or recycled into park and track surfaces. The importance of keeping sneakers out of landfills is vital on many levels.
Most people throw away their unwanted sneakers after 250-400 miles, or every 125-200 days, without ever thinking about recycling them. Since sneakers are manufactured with materials that are not biodegradable, they remain in landfills or are incinerated, which leads to toxic chemicals in our air and soil. The EPA estimates that 200-300 million pairs of shoes are thrown into our landfills each year, contaminating our environment.
Additionally, there are approximately 600 million people worldwide who do not even own a pair of shoes. GotSneakers redistributes wearable sneakers to those in need of shoes, which reduces the need for manufacturing sneakers. The manufacturing process also produces large amounts of CO2, which contributes to the serious effects of climate change and global warming.
Last year, GotSneakers recycled and reused 1.5 million pairs of sneakers. Over the past two years, Thurmont Grange has donated 287 pairs of sneakers to GotSneakers. With your help, we can keep sneakers out of landfills and reduce toxic chemicals in our air and soil. Let’s make a difference together!
Thurmont Grange is collecting sneakers, any size, any condition, any brand. Simply drop them off on the Grange Hall porch (gray block building), located at 17A North Carroll Street in Thurmont, or contact Niki Eyler at 301-471-5158, or email thurmontgrange@gmail.com to arrange a pickup.
Thurmont Grangers Nancy Wine and Addison Eyler prepare to bag sneakers for shipment to GotSneakers
