Other retailers taking steps in a greener direction include Old Navy, which has created a program to turn used flip flops into playgrounds.

From flip flops to playground? Yes! In honor of Earth Day, TerraCycle and Old Navy have partnered together in the Flip Flop Replay, which runs from April 22 – May 21, 2011. Now you can Reflip, Reflop, and Recycle for a fantastic initiative this Earth Day!

Recycle: Drop off your used flip-flops at Old Navy in Bellis Fair mall, so they can be recycled and used at four public playgrounds in the country. Look for designated collection bins.

The local Old Navy clothing store is collecting flip-flops that will be processed into playground material. The collection is part of a TerraCycle nationwide recycling program in which pens are being collected from Office Depot stores and flip-flops from Old Navy sites. In York, Old Navy is located in the Manchester Crossroads Shopping Center at 351 Loucks Road in Manchester Township, according to TerraCycle publicist Megan Yarnell. Collection bins are located at the front of the store.

Recycle: Bring used writing instruments, regardless of brand, to Office Depot at 4297 Meridian St. in Bellingham. They will be sent to TerraCycle Inc. and turned into new office-supply products such as trash cans and desk organizers. The collection runs through Saturday, April 23. People who bring in 10 pens, pencils or markers will receive a coupon toward a new product from Sanford, a pen company. Recycle: Drop off your used flip-flops at Old Navy in Bellis Fair mall, so they can be recycled and used at four public playgrounds in the country. Look for designated collection bins. The effort continues through May 21. It is a partnership between Old Navy and TerraCycle Inc.

Take all your broken, no-longer-wearable flip flops to Old Navy between April 22 and May 21 -- and the old footwear will get turned into new playgrounds.

Fri 22

Today is Earth Day, so do your part to keep our world beautiful. Start by grabbing your old flip flops and heading to Old Navy at Town Square, which has teamed up with TerraCycle to produce The Flip Flop Replay. Through May 21, Old Navy will collect flip flops, which will then be recycled into four public playgrounds around the country.

Earth Day. It's the day on which countless companies decide to announce new green products, environmental goals, project results or tree-planting plans, meaning it's also the day countless announcements go straight from our in-box to our (electronic) recycling bin. We'll try to make sure that at least a few of the resources that went into typing up and emailing those releases to us don't go to waste. Here are some of the ones that made the cut: New Life for Plastic Cups and Flip-Flops TerraCycle, the New Jersey company that turns all types of trash into consumer products, launched a handful of partnerships and limited collection drives this month. Two new collection programs will accept cosmetics packaging from Garnier brand products and plastic polystyrene cups, which let's hope you don't see at any Earth Day celebrations.  Throughout this week TerraCycle is working with Office Depot to give customers coupons for new Sanford products if they bring in pens, pencils or markers to be recycled. And if your flip-flops get ruined while picking up trash on the beach, Old Navy stores will collect used flip-flops until late May to be turned into public playground items through TerraCycle.

We love our flip-flops. But what do you do when your old ones have worn out? Consider recycling them. Old Navy stores (www.oldnavy.com) in Austin and nationwide will accept used flip-flops starting April 22. They will be collected through May 21 and given to upcycling and recycling company TerraCycle, which, in turn, will recycle the flip-flops and use the material for playgrounds. Local Old Navy stores are at Barton Creek Square, Gateway Shopping Center, Lakeline Plaza, the Mueller Development and Shops at the Galleria and in Sunset Valley.

  Flip flop season is almost upon us; the time of year where many of us bare our toes and opt for the ubiquitous summertime footwear.  At our house, weather permitting, we tend to wear our flip flops from the end of April to October. I’m such a fan of flip flops, but among our many pairs, I’ve never really considered what happens to the flip flops after we’re done with them.  Donate? Hand them down? Let them collect dust? How about recycle? Genius.