Ever wondered what to do with your old pairs of climbing shoes that are too worn to be repaired?
Climbing Anchors and TreadLightly have partnered up to provide climbers with a simple and free option to recycle climbing shoes and to divert this waste from landfill in Australia.
As climbers and outdoor enthusiasts, we all want to make a conscious effort to help reduce our impact on the land, streams and oceans in which we love. Recycling old climbing shoes is one of the ways we are working towards minimising our environmental footprint as a business.
Non-repairable climbing shoes are collected at our Alexandria (NSW) and Fitzroy (VIC) stores to be sent to a recycling partner. The shoes are sorted and processed in Australia. Reusable components are extracted, including rubber, leather and textiles, to be reclaimed into new products like flooring for retail stores, gyms, and playgrounds. Please make sure you wash smelly shoes before placing them in the box!
We are encouraging the recycling of all non-repairable climbing shoes. These are shoes in a condition where a resoler cannot repair them, e.g. the rand has a large hole or the material structure of the shoe has failed. You may also bring in old approach shoes or hiking shoes that don't have large metal parts (i.e. no steel toe caps). Shoe laces with metal tips and eyelets are fine.
We ask that any climbing shoe in a condition that can be repaired or given a second life should be washed, repaired and/or donated, and not placed in the recycling box.
As many as you like!
Note: store collection points are for personal shoes only. We don't take commercial or gym drop offs in our stores.
If your shoes are in a decent condition where they can be washed and repaired by a resoler, then we encourage you to repair them and/or donate them to someone who could use them. Local groups and clubs, like ClimbingQTs or university clubs, may be looking for equipment donations. You can also try your local rock climbing facebook group.
No, it doesn't. Recycling your shoes with us is free.
To help make recycling more accessible to climbers, we are covering the cost of recycling each pair that is brought into our stores as part of our initiative to reduce our environmental footprint.
Yes, you may recycle approach, running or hiking shoes.
However, please make sure that your shoes don't have large metal parts like steel toe caps. Shoe laces with metal tips and eyelets are fine.
You can also drop off your climbing shoes at other collection points. Participating retailers can be found here: TreadLightly Collection Locations
