The average Brown student's weekly recycling bin might contain a variety of empty plastic bottles from Josiah's, cardboard boxes and probably a large number of aluminum cans. Few would likely contain any type of footwear, but thanks to the environmentally conscious efforts of one local middle-schooler, Providence residents and Brown students can now recycle their old sneakers at special bins located around the city.
While flipping through National Geographic Kids, Andres Salmeron, a seventh grader at the Wheeler School, saw an advertisement for the magazine's effort to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chain of shoes. After breaking the record, he read, the shoes would be donated to the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program, which turns recycled shoes into playing surfaces for kids.
According to the National Geographic Web site, it takes between 2,000 and 2,500 pairs of old sneakers to create a basketball court. Actress Cameron Diaz and several members of the U.S. women's national soccer team have been among the celebrities donating to the project, according to the Web site.
Salmeron said the ad for that project inspired him to organize a sneaker drive in Providence, after which he would send his collection to National Geographic Kids. He said that he set a goal for Rhode Island - the smallest state in the union - to make the largest contribution to the national effort.
To get started, Salmeron said, he called City Hall and Brown's Center for Environmental Studies, explaining his project and asking to put collection bins outside their locations. Both were happy to help, Salmeron said. So far, those are the only two bin locations available, though he plans to set up additional bins at the Brown Bookstore and the State House.
Patti Caton '92 MA'02, administrative manager at the Center for Environmental Studies, said the Center publicized Salmeron's effort with a blurb about him in its newsletter.
"It's really wonderful that he's taken the initiative to do something like this," she said.
Salmeron said he has collected 15 pairs of shoes so far, but he was confident that the final count would be higher. As more people learn about the project and more bins are set up, donations should start to increase, he said.
The National Geographic deadline for donations to the project is Jan. 22, 2008, and Salmeron said he plans to send whatever he collects before that deadline.
Salmeron made it clear that, even as a seventh-grader, for him this project is not about the fame - the Guinness World Record is secondary to "raising awareness about recycling," he said.
"I've always been interested in the environment," Salmeron said. He cited the book "50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth" and former Vice President Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" as works that inspired his passion for environmentalism.
After the project is over, Salmeron said he hopes Rhode Islanders will continue to recycle their sneakers. The Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, the company that owns the Johnston Landfill - home to Providence's trash - recycles sneakers throughout the year, Salmeron said.
"I'd really like Rhode Island to start being more environmentally conscious," Salmeron said.
