The next time you see these old and unwanted running shoes, they'll look quite different.
If all goes to plan with a trial run as part of the ACT's first Zero Waste Festival, donated shoes will be processed into a park bench for the Canberra Environment Centre.
Just two hours into Saturday's festival at the National Museum of Australia, more than 500 people had already turned up to check out talks, workshops and stalls aimed at giving Canberrans practical ideas on how to eliminate waste.
Going plastic-free, sustainable fashion, creative ways to reuse resources, composting and waste policy were all on the agenda.
Attendees were also encouraged to donate their old joggers.
Festival organiser and Zero Waste Revolution chair Mia Swainson said the shoes would be sent to Moama in the NSW Riverina region to be processed by Newtecpoly, a company that makes products from recycled plastic.
Ms Swainson said Zero Waste Revolution had already done "a mini-trial" using five-centimetre by five-centimetre chunks of old running shoes she had hacked up using a saw.
The shoes donated on Saturday were to be used in a full-scale trial.
"[In the first trial], they took the shoes, which are almost 100 per cent plastic, and they mixed them with soft plastics, which were recycled," Ms Swainson said.
"They produced a material that is strong enough to be processed into park benches or even a hard plastic covering for the concrete on kerbs.
"The shoes donated today will hopefully be processed into a park bench that we'll put at the Canberra Environment Centre."
She said "a couple of hundred shoes" would probably be needed to make one bench.
Ms Swainson started to reduce plastic waste in her home in 2017 after learning soft plastic recycling was on offer at most supermarkets.
She now chairs Zero Waste Revolution, a not-for-profit community organisation established in April 2018 by a group of Canberrans who aim to transform the capital into a waste-free community.
Ms Swainson said events like Saturday's festival showed there was at least one way everybody could cut down on the amount of waste they produced.
She said it was important to feel good about the positive changes you made, rather than feeling guilty about the things you weren't doing.
"Just feel confident that you can take a step and start by doing one thing," Ms Swainson said.
"Take your soft plastics down to REDcycle for recycling, or just commit to not ever having your coffee in a takeaway cup.
"I want to encourage people to think of one thing they can do to take that first step and make a change in their lives.
"Making that change can be tricky, so [Zero Waste Revolution] is here to support people and give them ideas about things they might be able to do, and also just say, 'You're not alone'.
"There's a whole community of people who are also interested in reducing waste.
The ACT government recently stepped up its efforts in this area by creating the new ministerial portfolio of recycling and waste reduction. Minister Chris Steel told the Sunday Canberra Times last week of his plans, which include planning a food organic waste collection service and looking at how the ACT's Materials Recovery Facility could be upgraded.
Ms Swainson said she was particularly encouraged by the growing interest people were taking in the topic.
"These days, it's just a normal part of life for a lot of people to take their reusable bags to the supermarket," she said.
"I think, over time, so many other simple [strategies to reduce waste] will become normal.
"It's just a matter of taking those steps gradually.
"There was a time where people didn't recycle anything, so we've already shown we can change."
