Running with the idea to help the environment, the students of P.S. 83 have put their old sneakers to good use.
In honor of Earth Day, Wednesday April 29, the student counsel at P.S. 83 selected the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program as their charity.
“I think it was a really good idea. It is a fun way to recycle,” said student counsel member Antoneta Syku.
Established in the early 1990s, the program collects worn out or old athletic shoes and turns them into a material referred to as Nike Grind.
The Nike Grind reduces wasteful material by creating a safe surface for playgrounds and athletic centers. It can be used as padding under hardwood basketball floors, construction of synthetic courts, as a rubberized running track, fitness room flooring, safety surfacing, and infill for synthetic turf fields.
According to Kate Selkirk, student counsel advisor, Nike provided a kit with collection bins, placed throughout the school for faculty and students to drop off their unused sneakers, and bumper stickers and pins as gifts for participants.
Over 130 shoes had been collected in the four-week period the school had given for the project.
“We are partners with Nike for our physical education program, and we figured this would be great program for our student counsel,” said Principal Benjamin Soccodato.
Soccodato will be looking into the prospect of applying for the resurfacing of the school playground and hopes to continue the collection each year.
