Lately, the Specifications on Recycling and Disposition of Solid Waste Offcut Produced in the Process of Rubber Shoes and Sports Shoes Manufacturing GB/T declared by the Rubber Shoes Sub-committee of China National Technical Committee for the Standardization of Rubber and Rubber Products and drafted by Nike Sports (China) Co., Ltd. started to seek opinions, the deadline for which was May 11.

Currently, there’s been a gradual increase in shoe products in China with their output and number of types at the top in the world, making China the largest shoe producer around the world. In the process of producing shoes, a lot of solid wastes are produced inevitably, such as fabric, leather and synthetic leather that are used for upper parts of shoes, and rubber, foaming materials, polyurethane, thermoplastic polyurethane, etc. that are used for shoe soles. The traditional way is to dispose by burning or burying. However, burning generates a lot of poisonous gases, severely polluting the environment; if the wastes are to be buried, some materials within them will not decay after decades and are likely to generate poisonous materials in this process that will further pollute the land resources.

It is proposed in Made in China 2025 that the “comprehensive utilization rate of industrial solid wastes in green development” of the manufacturing industry will increase from 62% in 2013 to 79% in 2025.

Taking a look at the formulation of standards of the same category at home and abroad, relevant organizations of both at home and abroad have done certain analysis and research work in this field. Their work put more emphasis on recycling and reusing of certain shoe material while comprehensive and systematic standardization documents are not in place. In particular, there is no document released in the form of national, regional or international standards or specifications. Some branded companies in this industry have formulated internal specification documents which, however, are carried out only within their own supply chain.

Based on the status quo, the drafting unit holds that targeted research should be conducted to work out differentiated methods of disposition, recycling and cyclic utilization according to different materials and natures of various discarded shoe materials. While making the utmost of waste and used resources, they can minimize wastes that are generated. In this way, not only a large number of resources can be saved but also pollution on the environment can be alleviated, which is of vital economic and social significance.

On such basis, the drafting unit formulated the GB/ T. The application scope of this standard is: disposition of solid wastes generated in the process of not only rubber shoes and sports shoes manufacturing but also shoe manufacturing.

The technical content includes classification, disposition, recycling, reusing, etc. of wastes from shoe materials like the upper of shoes, midsole, outsole, welt, cushion, etc.