George & Phillips Sponsors Sneaker Recycling
For immediate release
March 22, 2007
Contact: Beth Salzman, 603-770-8050
B.SalzmanLeadingEdge@comcast.net

(Exeter, NH) – Get your dirty, old sneakers back in the game. Bring them to sporting goods retailer George & Phillips at 173 Water Street, Downtown Exeter, where they’re sponsoring an athletic shoe recycling drive. The shoes will be donated to the Nike Reuse-a-Shoe program where they get ground up and are used to make brand new athletic surfaces like soccer fields, playgrounds, basketball courts, and running tracks. The drive ends on April 18, in recognition of Earth Day.

Only athletic shoes will be counted as useable shoes. Additional guidelines:

• No metal eyelets, steel toes, cleats or spikes;
• No thongs, sandals, pumps, dress shoes or boots;
• No muddy or wet shoes;
• Any brand is acceptable, and no shoe is too worn out to be recycled.

George & Phillips has participated in the Reuse-A-Shoe program for eight years, recycling more than 3,000 pairs and they are the only drop off site for Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program north of Boston.

During the month of April, George & Phillips is also sponsoring an Earth Day competition among local elementary schools to illustrate the positive impact recycling can have on the environment. The school collecting the most recyclable sneakers wins a $150. George & Phillips’ Gift certificate for physical education equipment.

The benefits of recycling athletic shoes are two-fold: these items are kept from needlessly filling landfills, and as citizens of this community, we reinforce the value of protecting sustainable resources.

This program is unique to the athletic footwear industry. Since its inception in 1993, Nike has recycled more than 16 million pairs of shoes and more than 170 athletic courts, tracks, fields and playground surfaces have been donated to communities around the world.

For additional information, contact George & Phillips at 603-772-3156 or www.georgeandphillips.com.