In Florence sneakers become sport surfaces

(Rinnovabili.it) – In Florence  recycling  progresses further, with project  “Esosport-I giardini di Betty”. The joint initiative of Florence municipality, Quadrifoglio and ESO (Ecological Services Outsourcing) aims to give new life to  old sports shoes, turning them into second raw material for garden paving and sport surfaces. This highly virtuous cycle will be fuelled by  Esoboxes, dedicated bins placed in the city’s schools and sports facilities, where old shoes will be collected.

ESO will collect the shoes and grind the rubber they contain to produce shock-absorbing safety flooring, i.e. non-electricity conducting, non-toxic and oil, light, and water-resistant materials used for playground and sports surfaces. Interestingly, the rubber contained in 10 pairs of running shoes provides about 1 kg of rubber grains, or 1 square decimetre of flooring.