DONATION points for old trainers are now up and running across Stratford district.
The JogOn campaign has linked up with leisure centres run by Everyone Active to save one million pairs of running shoes from landfill.
And Stratford Leisure Centre, The Greig Leisure Centre and Southam Leisure Centre all have collection bins where members of the community can drop off their unwanted running shoes.
JogOn will then send them around the world to people who most need them.
JogOn estimates that every year in the UK alone, more than 30 million pairs of shoes end up in landfill, while elsewhere in the world around three million people suffer from sole diseases.
But it is hoped this nationwide partnership with Everyone Active will make a valuable contribution to drastically improving those statistics.
Alex Fuoco-Lang, Everyone Active’s contract manager, said: “We are delighted to partner with JogOn for this hugely positive initiative, which means the local community can make a real difference.
“We would encourage people of all ages to donate their unwanted running shoes so that they can experience a second life, rather than simply going to landfill.
“It’s just a matter of dropping the shoes into collection bins at our leisure centres and Everyone Active and JogOn will do the rest.”
Tony Piedade, JogOn’s CEO, added: “This partnership with Everyone Active will prove a huge boost in our efforts to keep one million pairs of running shoes from going to landfill.
“We know from trials that leisure centre users are very engaged in this type of initiative and we fully expect to see 60 to 70 pairs collected per centre, each month. With a push, this partnership alone could keep 100,000 pairs a year out of landfill.”
