An investigation by Reuters found that multiple shoes donated to a recycling program later ended up in Indonesia, some having been put up for sale in bazaars, seemingly contradicting the program’s stated purpose.
Reuters reported the outlet had donated shoes to a program run by Dow, Inc., in partnership with the government of Singapore. The outlet embedded devices in the shoes to track their movements.
Dow had previously indicated in a June 2021 press release that materials from recycled shoes would “contribute to building new sports surfaces and infrastructure.”
Reuters later recovered three pairs of shoes in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Batam, where they were available for sale in second-hand clothing markets. Another four pairs could not be tracked down in person because they traveled long distances. An additional three pairs could no longer be traced at all after arriving in the country.
One pair reportedly never left Singapore, per Reuters. “Those shoes – a pair of men’s white Reeboks – ended up in a public housing project about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from a community sports center where Reuters had dropped them into a donation bin on Sept. 8,” the outlet noted.
Reuters reported the trading company Yok Impex Pte Ltd, had taken possession of most of the shoes.
When asked by Reuters how some of the shoes had come to be put up for sale by Indonesian clothing merchants, the company’s logistics manager suggested employee error was the likely culprit.
Dow had announced in the press release that it would partner with Sport Singapore (SportSG), the country’s national sports agency, to establish a “permanent shoe waste collection ecosystem, which aims to recycle 170,000 pairs of used sports shoes per annum.”
The program’s purpose was to “help reduce the load on and extend the lifespan of Semakau, the country’s only offshore landfill,” according to the press release.
The press release lists B.T. Sports, Alba WH, Decathlon, and Standard Chartered Bank as partners in the effort.
“We are adopting a circular economy approach towards the management of waste in Singapore.” Grace Fu, Singapore’s Minister of Sustainability and Environment, is quoted as saying in the press release. “We see waste not as something to be thrown away, but as a precious resource to be harvested.”
Reuters reported that after Dow was alerted to the movements of the donated shoes, the project’s partners conducted an investigation that resulted in the decision to stop working with Yok Impex as of March 1.
Dow said in a statement to Reuters, “The project partners do not condone any unauthorized removal or export of shoes collected through this program and remain committed to safeguarding the integrity of the collection and recycle process,”
An accountant for Yok Impex indicated to Reuters that the company’s relationship with the program would end when its contract expired. The company did not specify a date or a reason for the end of its involvement with the program.
You can follow Michael Foster on Twitter at @realmfoster.
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