Nothing says summer more than flip flops.  The squishy sandals help you beat the heat and they can help build a new playground too.  The Old Navy stores in Spokane Valley and Moscow, Idaho are collecting used flip flops.  Collection boxes sit near the front door. . "When a customer comes in they just need to bring their old flip flops and pop them in the box.  It's Simple, " said Spokane Valley store manager Bridget Brooks.  The old sandals are mailed to TerraCycle http://www.terracycle.net in New Jersey and recycled into plastic equipment for new playgrounds.  TerraCycle also recycles used potato chip bags, candy wrappers and children's juice drink pouches.

Many of the items we use on a daily basis produce a large amount of waste.  Much of our trash comes from food and beverage containers.  You eat a bag of chips, and then that bag sits in a landfill for years.  Other common sources of trash include school and office supplies, small electronics, and shipping materials.  However, there are ways to actually make money from items that normally go straight into the trash. Here are five types of items that you can get paid to get rid of in an environmentally friendly way. 1.        Food and beverage containers Within the last few years, a new company known as TerraCycle has found a creative way to reuse candy wrappers, chip bags, beverage containers, and even wine corks.  They take in these types of trash and then turn them into useable products, such as school and office supplies.  The best part is, TerraCycle will pay you for your trash.  By registering your organization (usually a school, scout troop, or non-profit), you can begin to keep track of what you send to the company.  The price is usually $0.02 per piece of trash, but it all adds up to help produce less trash and raise money for local schools or charities. For more information, visit www.terracycle.net

A company called TerraCycle pays 2 cents for every pouch sent in. Carter wasn't sure how much juice Sand Pine students drank, but she was about to find out.

I just came back from the Terracycle Green Up Shop and boy am I inspired.

Conveninently located next to the Port Authority on 41st Street & 8th Avenue, it is an awesome display of  eco friendly items to be used at home, in class, on the go or even the runway.

Yes darlings, there is an entire dress made from m&m candy wrappers that is fabulous, and tons of other clothing items made from bamboo and salvaged fabric.

I am super inspired to keep making my bags and branching out into other items.Maybe next year you will see “smartalecky” in the Green Up Shop!

Next time you purchase a box of Capri Sun drinks, a tube of Colgate toothpaste, a Clif bar etc.. consider hanging on to your trash and sending it to Terracycle! TerraCycle takes a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials and then makes affordable, eco-friendly products. Terracycle is hoping to eliminate the idea of waste by finding innovative, unique uses for materials others deem garbage. With over 50 products available at major retailers like Walmart, Target, The Home Depot, OfficeMax, Petco and Whole Foods Market, TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world. Consider what happens when your kids finish drinking a Capri Sun…they toss the empty juice box in the trash which eventually ends up in a dumpster or landfill. Instead of adding the drink pouch to a pile of other pouches at the landfill, TerraCycle converts the used drink pouches into unique fashion bags, tote bags, pencil cases, and other items for kids and adults (check out the adorable Skittles bag below made from recycled Skittles wrappers)!

According to the Guilderland Elementary School Acting PTA President, Guilderland Elementary School raises money by upcycling Capri Sun juice pouches.  By simply offering a recycling container in a lunchroom, local schools and organizations can earn money and protect the environment. Starting healthy habits for body and earth can start early with Capri Sun.  Yes, that says Capri Sun.  Remember the sugary juice in bags that kids loved in the 80's?  For today's kids, Capri Sun offers 100% juice, recyclable pouches, and school or organization fundraising programs.  This is a win, win, win situation.

I just discovered this site. No, you will not make money, but you can help a charity with your trash! It's free to join and it's going towards a good cause! I'm asking y'all to join my team and collect juice pouches, chip bags, candy wrappers, cookie bags, etc. They even provide shipping labels for you to ship the items to them! If you join my team, I do NOT get any money or anything special. You're just helping me collect for a local charity in New Orleans called Cambodia Children's Sanctuary  which helps out abandoned children and such. For each of the items you send in, they donate $0.02 to the charity. It may not seem like a lot but with all my followers I know we can make a difference! It's free to join, you're getting rid of trash and recycling at the same time as well as helping a very worthy charity!