There are over 15 million people practicing yoga in the U.S. and that means that there are lots of used yoga mats out there.  You probably have one or two old mats rolled up and out of sight in your closet … attic … basement … under the bed … that you no longer use but don’t know what to do with and can’t let end up in a landfill!

Surprisingly, there are a lot of practical, sustainable & eco-friendly ways to reuse old yoga and fitness mats!  Here are a few ideas that some of us at Nitty Gritty Fitness have come up with, plus a few I’ve found during my web travels.  Hope you can use some of them ….

With a good pair of  scissors, you can cut up a mat and,

1. Put a piece under your dog’s dish to keep it from sliding
2. Place a piece in front of the kitty litter box … the stickiness will catch the litter and keep her from tracking it across the floor
3. Use as coasters to protect your furniture from drips
4. Line your shelves or drawers
5. Use as treads for slippery, wooden stairs.  The natural stickiness will hold them in place
6. Use as a knee pad while gardening
7. Place inside a pet carrier to provide cushioning and comfort during those scary trips to the vet
8. Save energy by plugging up drafts coming through windows and doors
9. Make beautiful trivets by gluing them to the bottoms of decorative, ceramic  tiles
10. Use as “bases” when playing baseball with the kids
11. Use as grip pads to open jars
12. Place under furniture legs to prevent slipping and scratching hardwood floors
13. Place under throw rugs to keep them from sliding

Here’s a few ideas that don’t require any cutting …

1. Keep one in the car.  If you get stuck in the snow, unroll it behind your tires to give you some traction
2. When travelling, use as a changing pad for the baby … it easily washes off
3. Use in place of a blanket when sitting on the ground during a concert or your kid’s ball game
4. When camping, place one under your sleeping bag for extra cushioning
5. Place one across the back seat of your car when traveling with your dog … it’ll protect the leather from scratch marks and help keep your precious pup from sliding off the seat if you stop suddenly

Or, pay it forward by donating your mat …

1. To a homeless shelter … they can use them as sleeping pads
2. To an animal shelter … they’re always in need of pads, blankets, rugs & towels to line the animal crates
3. To a nursing home for people to have next to their beds so they don’t slip while getting in and out of bed

Or, donate your mat to a recycling program.   Jade Yoga has recently introduced their 3 Rs program – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Through this program, Jade hopes to reuse yoga mats by making them available to those who otherwise might not be able to afford them, reduce the number of yoga mats going to landfills and recycle any mats that cannot be reused.  The primary goal of their recycling program is to maximize local reuse of the mats by offering them to yoga teachers who volunteer to teach in shelters, schools, prisons and rehabilitation centers. For instructions on how to donate and to find a donation center near you, check out their website:

“Recycle Your Yoga Mat” partners with companies that have created jobs and businesses based on waste reuse and upcycling.   In 2008, 50 percent of the mats collected were upcycled into other products and more than 30 percent were donated to local community programs.  Check their website for a drop off location near you or for instructions on mailing your mat to them.  Recycle Your Mat offers a 20% discount coupon on any Manduka purchase when you donate your used mat to them, which Nitty Gritty Fitness will happily honor if you purchase your mat from us.

Please remember to thoroughly clean your yoga mat before donating it to any organization.  Yoga Journal recommends using a spray bottle, damp sponge or terry cloth rag to apply a solution of two cups of water and four drops of dish soap.  Rub the soiled areas and wipe the mat down with clean water, then rub with a dry terry cloth towel and hang to dry.  If your mat is heavily soiled, soak it in warm water and mild detergent and then rinse it with clean water.  Lay the mat on a dry towel and roll the mat and towel together. Stepping on the rolled up mat will squeeze more moisture into the towel. Unroll and hang the mat to dry.  Use very little soap, because any residue will remove its “stickiness”.

Do you have any other ideas for using old yoga mats?  Do you know of any other recycling programs?  If so, please share!

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 17th, 2010 at 2:14 pm and is filed under Yoga Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.