Boone County Solid Waste District reports 8,433 pairs collected; schedules toxic-drop April 26 and spring litter cleanup May 1–3

Jennifer Lawrence, executive director of the Boone County Solid Waste District, said the district collected 8,433 pairs of shoes this year and has diverted tens of thousands of pairs from the landfill through a long-running reuse program.

"This was our thirteenth year for the collection. And this year, we collected 8,433 pairs of shoes. And I'm happy to announce that through the generosity of Boone County, we have given over 80,000 pairs of shoes over the last 13 years," Lawrence said on the Love and Lebanon podcast.

The shoe collection is one of several seasonal programs the district runs to keep materials out of landfills and help residents in need. Lawrence said most reusable shoes are processed by Changing Footprints, a Central Indiana volunteer nonprofit, and that roughly 85% of shoes suitable for reuse remain in Central Indiana. Shoes that cannot be reused are recycled through Nike's regrind program at a facility in…