We wear them on our feet but then what do we do when their work is done?

Although there are a lot of places that will accept gently used shoes, your beat-up Nikes or Toms may be harder to find a new home. Shoes can be pretty tricky to recycle because a lot of programs lean towards donation and reuse.

No fear, dear readers. One of our new fav markets has an expansive recycling center. We’ll also share a few places that you can drop off gently-worn shoes.

Where to Recycle Old Shoes

If your shoes are unwearable, MOMs Organic Market accepts and recycles old shoes. MOMS takes “both new and worn-out/unwearable shoes including sneakers, sandals, and other footwear” and ask if they have laces, to tie them together to make it easy-peasy. (Update 2025: MOMs no longer take shoes.)

Philadelphia Runner accepts old sneakers and will convert unwearable shoes to energy through partners. 

If you want to donate wearable shoes:

• Donate them to a local thrift shop like Philly Aids Thrift
• Consign them to a local shop like Greene Street.
• Soles4Souls will accept up to 15 pairs of gently worn shoes – and you can ship them (thanks to Zappos!) for free. This is an ideal locale if you’re not in a walkable area/nearby one of the above locations. Find out more info on their website.