Second chances come in many forms. For Jonathan Grant, an environmental technology student at Durham College, it means transforming disposed gloves into sustainable products that reduce environmental damage and address the exploitation of overseas labour.

Grant launched Second Sole in October 2024, prompted by the large number of nitrile gloves being disposed of on the college campus.

In a short time, it grew into a project that aims to divert thousands of single-use nitrile gloves from landfills – where they can take centuries to decompose – back into circulation as shoe soles and other recycled products.

The use and disposal of nitrile gloves and face masks skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing the environmental toll of disposable protective gear.

Since these gloves cannot be reused, they contribute significantly to landfill waste, much of which is classified as biohazardous. Second Sole steps in to collect, treat and repurpose these materials. Scaling the effort could mean keeping more gloves out of landfills and turning them into sustainable consumer products.

How the process works

There is a five-step process for repurposing nitrile gloves. It includes collection, sanitation, shredding and granulation, preparing a binder made of “natural rubber latex with additives [like] sulphur, zinc oxide, antioxidants, fillers, plasticizers,” and finally, moulding and curing, according to a presentation by Second Sole.

Gloves and face masks are gathered from the college and partner hospitals in designated collection bins.

“Once we’ve diverted the gloves, we sterilize them using an autoclave process, and then with the sterilized rubber,” explains Grant.

And as he says, “consumerism is not going anywhere,” so the next best thing is to try and mitigate its impact – on people and the planet.

The goal of the project is not just to reduce environmental waste but also to tackle the exploitation of overseas labour in manufacturing by relocating production closer to home.

A second chance at life

But before he could start changing the world, Grant had to make a change in his own life.

“It all kind of began when I came back to school in 2023,” he said. “I was going through a rough time in my life prior to that. I battled addiction, both with alcohol and cocaine for a long time, and decided that it was time to make a change. So, I went back to school for environmental technology just to kind of reboot my brain and get restarted here.”

And it’s a hard reset that seems to be working.

Together with team member and classmate Haley Maddess, Grant delivered a winning pitch at the Enactus regionals held in Mississauga on March 5.

Enactus is a global network of college-level entrepreneurship and leadership clubs. The Durham College chapter of Enactus worked with Grant on getting Second Sole off the ground.

Maddess smiled as she recalled hearing Grant’s “spiel” at an Enactus event and decided to get involved.

“I really agreed with the project’s message, and the goals they were trying to accomplish,” she said.

Maddess says they are now seeking funding to obtain a granulator, moving beyond the coffee grinder they’re currently using, a fact that made the regional competition panel laugh approvingly, showing the DIY tenacity of the project.

She wants to “increase the amount of gloves that we are able to take on and start making products with them,” Maddess said.

The road ahead for Second Sole

In its presentation, Second Sole said that it has invited partners to collaborate on funding, equipment sharing and distribution. At present, Grant said the project has partnered with a manufacturer based in Kingston, Ont. “They’re the ones helping us design the custom moulds for the products we plan to make,” he said.

The end goal is to achieve a scalable model for waste-to-product recycling that targets institutional clients, manufacturers and eco-conscious consumers.

“It’s really interesting to see how we can make something that seems like such a waste to everyone else into a very, very versatile [and] usable material with so many avenues for expansion,” says Maddess.

One of the hurdles to scaling the idea is the classification of used gloves and masks as biohazardous material, which creates hassles with the red tape around using them.

“Which makes it so you just throw them away and have to buy more, [and] which makes me beg the question, are these policies in place really to protect people, or are they in place so that we keep selling gloves and PPE (personal protective equipment) that we don’t need?” said Grant.

Funding for the project could be another challenge, especially with rising costs and tight budgets on college campuses, including Durham College.

Then there’s storage space and proving the competitiveness of the product in a crowded market.

But for now, with the momentum of their win behind them, Grant and Maddess can only see bigger things around the corner. As winners in the regionals, Second Sole will be competing at the Enactus nationals at Calgary, Alta., in May.

There, once again, Grant and Maddess are set to share their idea with an even bigger community, and sign off with a single question:

“Will you give these gloves a second chance?”