Cuco’s Sandals – End of Life Tires are born again

Here, again, are my “new” Mexican sandals. They were made to fit me by hand by a lively southern Baja resident by the name of Cuco Moyron and his lovely wife, Pilar. I’ll introduce you to Cuco and Pilar in later posts, but for now I’d like to tell you what I think makes these sandals so special.

The soles of these sandals used to be auto tires. Check out the picture. If you look closely at the sandal that is bottom-side up, you can (just) make out the tread. See the way the sandal wants to curl up? It’s almost as if it remembers its former life.

Here in the US, around 80% of End of Life Tires (ELTs) are now recycled into useful products such as building materials, mats for livestock or sports, truck bed mats, or commercial flooring. Ongoing efforts are making progress toward ensuring that virtually all used tires in the US are recycled rather than discarded.

However, not all countries are doing a good job recycling ELTs. An excellent visual and informative  2008 reportby the World Business Council for Sustainable Development estimates that over 4 billion ELTs are currently in landfills and stockpiles worldwide. These discarded tires provide a breeding ground for disease carrying mosquitoes and rodents, and create a fire and environmental hazard risk.

So I’m proud that Cuco’s sandals not only make a practical and creative souvenir for me, but also made a tiny dent in solving the problem of what to do with ELTs in Baja, where they would otherwise scar the stark desert beauty of the area.

In my next post, we’ll take a road trip to Todos Santos, where Johna and I first encountered Cuco Moyon and his recycled sandals.

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