Over 300,000 donated shoes accumulated in Singapore warehouse

In Singapore, over 300,000 pairs of donated shoes have accumulated at a Tuas warehouse due to decreased interest in a recycling project. The initiative, launched nearly four years ago, aimed to repurpose 170,000 pairs annually but has only managed to recycle about 70,000. The project, a collaboration between Sport Singapore and Dow, has faced challenges in finding partners willing to use the recycled materials. Currently, only four partners are involved, and the collected shoes are taking up significant warehouse space. Experts highlight that recycling shoes is more complex and costly than using tires, which are more consistent in quality. Future initiatives may need better management to align shoe collection with actual project needs to avoid excess accumulation.