CRESTWOOD 鈥 Former soccer player Magdalen Pike once stalked the midfield with a steely focus. But when her matches were over, win or lose, her attention shifted to something else: the gear scattered on the sidelines and abandoned inside locker rooms.
鈥淚 have core memories of finding leftover soccer balls and water bottles,鈥 said Pike, who played for Oakville High School and Southeast Missouri State University.
Americans buy heaps of sports equipment: $150 billion of it in 2022, according to research firm Statista. Much of it 鈥 outgrown, overlooked or cast off in favor of something new 鈥 never makes it to the end of its life cycle. And though big thrift stores and a few specialty resale outlets such as Play It Again Sports accept used equipment, a lot of it ends up in a landfill.
Industries such as technology and fashion have responded to consumer concerns about sustainability by establishing a circular economy, with take-back and repair options. Pike decided, while a graduate student at Washington University, to try to do something similar for athletics that would also provide resources for underserved youths.
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The first step would be education: People just didn鈥檛 know what to do with their stuff.
鈥淎lmost none of it is curbside recyclable,鈥 said Pike, who lives in Crestwood.
She tapped her old soccer contacts first, at Oakville and Lou Fusz Athletic Soccer Club. I鈥檒l take anything, she told them. Pike found partners who could sort, clean and fix. She located designated recyclers who would accept everything from tennis balls to textiles.
formally launched late last summer, and Pike dedicated herself to the nonprofit full time after she earned her MBA in December. Her primary funding has been from Washington U. and Missouri Solid Waste Management grants. More than a dozen schools, clubs and service organizations have come aboard, sponsoring donation drives or giving Passback their unclaimed lost-and-found items.
A trickle of odds and ends soon grew into a deluge. The overflow from Passback鈥檚 storage unit spilled into Pike鈥檚 garage.
鈥淭he challenge is having a balance of collection and distribution,鈥 she said.
Pike has given water bottles to homeless outreach groups, but most of the donations go to children鈥檚 charities, such as Youth in Motion.
One day in January, Passback set up shop in the gym at the International Institute of St. 亚洲无码. Youngsters there tried on cleats and kicked around balls as they picked out what they wanted to take home with them.
鈥淎s refugees, they arrive with basically nothing,鈥 said Katherine Schoeberle, the institute鈥檚 teen coordinator. 鈥淪ports equipment is really hard to come by.鈥
鈥楩ood bank for sports equipment鈥
Max Levitt of Washington, D.C., noticed the opposite phenomenon while he was the student equipment manager for the Syracuse University football team: Every season, no matter what, the locker room would be stocked anew.
鈥淲e were regularly throwing away perfectly good equipment,鈥 Levitt said.
The college was discarding barely used pads and socks, helmets and gloves. At the same time, many young fans couldn鈥檛 afford to take up the game.
Over the past generation, the has widened. High-priced club teams are populated by upper-middle-class kids, while many municipal and rec leagues 鈥 which have a lower barrier to entry 鈥 have folded.
鈥淢iddle- and high-income families pay to have the best 鈥 better coaching, better facilities,鈥 said Levitt.
And they participate in sports at higher rates. Meanwhile, physical education and community programs 鈥 open to all 鈥 often struggle to get funding.
Levitt thought he could get supplies into the hands of teachers and camp counselors. The gear was out there. The key would be making it easy for donors.
鈥淲e鈥檙e competing with the trash can,鈥 he said. 鈥淐onvenience is king.鈥
Levitt opened out of his parents鈥 basement a decade ago. He recruited corporate sponsors, hosted pop-up events and established a collection system with dozens of permanent bins.
Since then, the 鈥渇ood bank for sports equipment鈥 has expanded to five cities, mostly on the East Coast, and distributed $14 million worth of goods. A sixth hub is set to open soon in Detroit. PE teachers and recreation directors can 鈥渟hop鈥 the warehouses for free.
Levitt, who has advised Pike, envisions one day establishing a national network of equipment centers, similar to how Feeding America manages food distribution.
Picking up momentum
St. 亚洲无码鈥 reputation as a 鈥渟port-centric鈥 city has given Pike a leg up, she said.
When she pitches her Passback tent, which announces itself with a lime-green banner, passersby always stop to talk.
She tells them she鈥檒l take anything sports-related off their hands 鈥 bags, shoes and uniforms; sticks, mitts and rackets; even umbrellas and folding chairs.
The most common reaction she gets, Pike said, is: 鈥淲ow, I鈥檝e been looking for this!鈥
One Thursday in May, Mark Laury wandered past Pike at the Francis Park farmers market in south St. 亚洲无码. He leads the sustainability team at Chaminade College Preparatory School, where he鈥檚 an art teacher.
Laury invited Pike to speak with the principal, and the all-boys school adopted the nonprofit for one of its environmental initiatives this year.
Its first used-gear drive, during a soccer game last month, garnered 150 pounds of equipment. Two more collections are scheduled during the fall athletics season, plus a weeklong fundraiser.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something students can get behind,鈥 said Laury. 鈥淭his has gained a lot of steam.鈥
In its first year, Passback distributed about 1,500 items worth an estimated $20,000, Pike said, diverting about 15 tons of plastic and metal from landfills.