Remember when Salomon announced that he would recycle boots into ski boots? Well, now Tecnica is on board.
Tecnica has just launched its Recycle Your Boots pilot program in Europe, a very unique initiative to reduce waste and “bring the ski industry closer to a circular economy”, according to the Italian brand.
Tecnica’s project, which started in the Alpine region this fall, aims to protect the planet by recycling used ski boot materials into secondary raw materials. This change will reduce waste, the brand’s use of virgin materials and CO2 emissions.
“The idea is quite simple,†explains Maurizio Priano, Marketing and Brand Manager Tecnica. “We will allow skiers to return their old ski boots of any brand to partner retailers, and then recycle them through a transparent and sustainable process.”
The project is similar to Salomon Recycling Initiative, which also aims to reduce industrial waste, but instead by recycling the materials of the boots into the raw material of the ski boots.
Recycle your boots with Tecnica
This is how the Tecnica pilot program will work. Instead of relying on shipping, Tecnica will partner with several retailers to set up collection sites.
Retailers will collect the old ski boots and transport them to the Italian company Fecam, which will dismantle the boots (lining, plastic and metal components). Then Tecnica will use a reliable plastics plant to turn all plastics into secondary raw materials. And Tecnica has thought of everything – even the boot liners will be shredded to create a new cushioning material.
“Tecnica’s goal is to enable people to live out their passion for mountain sports,†said Priano. “If we want this to continue in the future, we must all play our part. Recycle Your Boots project will reduce ski industry footprint [and] support local economies by driving traffic to retailers. “
Tecnica will launch the program in Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. He hopes to expand to Sweden, Norway and Spain after assessing progress.
When it comes to North America, Tecnica cited unique challenges that must be overcome before they can launch a ski boot recycling program like Europe’s. But the brand noted that “the hope is to expand the project to this side of the Atlantic if the right partners and processes can be put in place for it to be successful.”
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