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U.S. petrochemicals giant Dow Inc and Sport Singapore, a government
agency, had pledged that the shoes would be ground down to make
playgrounds and running tracks.
The investigation, using location trackers hidden inside the soles
of shoes, found sneakers donated by Reuters in Singapore had instead
been exported to Indonesia for resale.
That also contravened a 2015 ban by Indonesia on such practices
which was put in place for hygiene purposes and to protect its local
textile industry.
Presented with Reuters findings, Dow and Sport Singapore opened an
investigation and later terminated the contract of Yok Impex, a
local textile exporter that was subcontracted to collect shoes from
donation bins.
They issued a statement after the publication of the Feb. 25 story
apologising to the public for a "lapse" in its recycling supply
chain.
"What resulted, as far as we can tell, from the investigation ...
came from a lax system," Minister for Culture, Community and Youth
Edwin Tong said, responding to questions in parliament.
He added that in addition to unannounced inspections for contractors
hired to collect the shoes, companies that export textiles or
footwear will not be employed again.
"The project partners have taken steps to tighten the process
chain," Tong said, adding that learning points would be shared with
other recycling projects in Singapore.
Indonesia also said this month it would tighten customs checks at
small ports to crack down on the illegal import of second-hand shoes
as a result of Reuters' findings.
(Reporting by Joe Brock; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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