This week sees JogOn (www.jogonagain.com) – a national campaign to remove one million pairs of running shoes from landfill – launch across the UK with the aim to hit a huge festive milestone of 10,000 donated pairs by this Christmas.
With nearly 4,000 pairs of running shoes already donated and saved from landfill, as the festive season fast approaches, gifting, as well as wardrobe clear-outs, sits high on people’s agendas, and JogOn is asking Brits to gift unwanted, no longer used running shoes and trainers and help a purpose-driven, sustainable cause.
Created by Tony Piedade, also known for founding Jogging Buddy (www.joggingbuddy.com) back in 2009, JogOn is currently operating as just a one man band with high aspirations, goals and one simple mission: to prolong the life of one asset. Every year it is estimated that a whopping 33 million running shoes end up in landfill and once there, those shoes stick around for a while – the average pair of trainers takes approximately 1,000 years to decompose. Frequently, these shoes are still in usable condition and all have the incredible potential for a second lease of life.
Once received by JogOn, all donated shoes are reviewed and thoroughly inspected. Those that are end of life, of which to date, only 3% of those received have been, will be disposed of in the UK. JogOn is currently storing these while it investigates a partnership with a waste to energy plant in the UK to ensure these are properly terminated.
Those deemed to be in good condition with many miles left in them, are repurposed and sent to JogOn’s charity partners, NGOs or micro-economies across the UK and overseas, where they are given to people who need them most.
Donating could not be easier or simpler:
JogOn has partnered with Evri as its official delivery partner. For £2, you can download a postage label from the JogOn website that allows you to donate up to 40 pairs or 15 kilos worth of donated shoes to JogOn at one time.
Alternatively, simply head to the website for information about your closest drop off point of which there are currently over 200 across the UK and spanning leisure centres to individual luxury hotels, universities and sports retailers. The collection partners include leisure operators such as Everyone Active, Parkwood Leisure, and Places for People Leisure; Iconic Luxury Hotels and a number of universities. From Canterbury to Edinburgh, Cardiff to Norwich, London to Brighton, Manchester, Bristol, Sheffield and more, there is an abundance of options up and down the country to pledge your support at.
Commenting on the launch of the campaign across the UK, founder Tony Piedade said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for the JogOn campaign but we need everyone across the UK to donate to really make an impact; to support us to reach our target and prolong the life of just one asset they once owned. We’ve made it as easy and cost effective as possible to donate and are excited about gathering more momentum and support of the campaign this Christmas and beyond.”
To get involved and learn more about the campaign visit https://www.jogonagain.com/ or follow JogOn on lnstagram at @jogonrecycle or on Facebook at JogOn.