PEUGEOT has joined forces with football boot brand Sokito to help launch the world's first football boot recycling scheme.

The link up began with a 2,000-mile journey to Italy transporting 400 pairs of football boots in Peugeot's e-Expert electric van.

With an estimated 12.5 million football boots across Europe and the USA ending up in landfill each year, the scheme, developed by Sokito in partnership with an apparel recycling specialist, will see a trial of newly developed machinery that can break down old football boots into materials that can be re-used and ultimately re-manufactured into new boots.

To support this initiative, Peugeot supplied Sokito with a fully electric e-Expert van to transport 400 pairs of old football boots from London to Italy to begin the trial.

The e-Expert is fitted with the larger of two battery options available, a 75kWh battery offering up to 205 miles of range with a rapid charging capability meaning a 0-80 per cent charge can be completed in just 45 minutes.

The e-Expert left London on Monday October 3, arriving in Tolentino, Italy in time for the trial to begin on Thursday the 6th, with the results then analysed over the course of the following month.

Jake Hardy, founder of Sokito, said:"It's fantastic to have Peugeot support our recycling initiative and we're looking forward to getting on the road to Italy with the e-Expert electric van. Transporting the boots in an environmentally friendly way is very much in line with our brand ethos so it's great to have Peugeot on board as our transport partner."

Julie David, managing director, Peugeot UK, said:"We're happy to support Sokito's innovative, circular solution which aligns with Peugeot's own strategy to offer an electrified variant across our model line-up by 2024. With a WLTP range of over 200 miles and 100kW rapid charging capability, the fully electric e-Expert is a fantastic choice to help deliver the first batch of boots on their way to a second life."

Available with either a 50kWh or 75kWh battery, the Peugeot e-Expert offers up to 143 and 205 miles of range respectively, while there's a choice of two lengths - standard and long.

The e-Expert has a payload of up to 1,004kg and a load volume of up to 6.1 cubic metres.