CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM At a press conference at Honolulu Hale, Niketown product manager Jamie Lamb explained yesterday how different parts of shoes are recycled into various products, including track surfaces, synthetic courts and playgrounds. CLICK FOR LARGE

Sneakers will be recycled as play areas

A major athletic shoe company is once again leading a shoe recycling campaign this month to build playing fields and keep junk out of landfills.

Participants may bring their old athletic shoes (of any brand name) to any police or fire station, or to the Niketown Honolulu store in Waikiki, until April 29. The shoes will be recycled into playing surfaces for a variety of sports, Jamie Lamb, Nike retail product manager, said.

Nike has partnered with several organizations and officials for its Reuse-A-Shoe campaign for the second year in a row.

A mountain of collected shoes will be on display at the Niketown store from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Community Recycling Day, April 29.

Last year, more than 200 schools collected more than 6,000 pairs of athletic shoes in a monthlong contest. The schools are involved in a contest this year to win Nike equipment, Lamb said.

This year, police and fire stations and the University of Hawaii athletic department are lending a hand to reach a goal of 10,000 pairs, Lamb said.

Nike will not accept shoes that have metal parts (cleats, spikes, etc.), that are wet or caked with mud, or those in plastic bags or tied together. No thongs, sandals, pumps, dress shoes or boots are being collected.

Lamb said it takes 75,000 pairs of recycled shoes to make a running track, depending on the distance and number of lanes, and 2,500 pairs to make a tennis court or basketball court. Soccer fields and playground surfaces also are made from recycled shoes.

Shoes are divided into three parts, which are crushed and ground to make raw materials under the Nike Grind brand, first produced in 1993. The upper fabric, midsole foam and rubber outer sole are used for different playing surfaces, all of which "keeps them out of the landfills of Hawaii," Lamb said.

The Niketown store and fire stations will accept shoes year-round as well, she said.

The Star-Bulletin and MidWeek, Matson, King Kalakaua Plaza, Westpac Movers and Jamba Juice are partners in the campaign.

Children and adults may also participate in the Creative Kicks Art Contest to turn a pair of old shoes into something useful or an objet d'art.