Steps towards a circular shoe

Last week I wrote about Pringles cans and their more recyclable new design. The reason that Pringles cans were so notorious in the waste industry is that they are a hybrid that uses metal, plastic and cardboard. The materials can’t be separated and so they can’t be easily processed for recycling.

This is true of any complex product. Once you’ve mixed materials up, recycling is much harder. It isn’t necessarily impossible, but it requires more advanced techniques that in many cases just won’t...