Old flip-flop sandals can be recycled into public playgrounds, seriously, so take them to the Old Navy store during Earth Month. An international recycling company is collecting used flip-flop sandals at all Old Navy clothing stores starting today, Earth Day, for the next month until May 21. The miracle of recycling means the flip-flops will come out on the other end as public playgrounds—those rubber-like ground surfaces that save teeth, knees and possibly broken arms when children take a fall. TerraCycle, Inc. has partnered with Old Navy for the flip-flop drive. They say it's the first time a retail chain has agreed to a large-scale collection for recycle inside 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.

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.

Old Navy and Office Depot are sponsoring in-store recycling programs in conjunction with TerraCycle, a New-Jersey-based company that makes new products out of nonrecyclable packaging and products.

Terracycle, a Trenton company that specializes in recycling consumer goods generally considered not reusable, is moving on from kitschy tote bags to plastic lumber.

A pair of national retail chains with stores in Mentor are participating in a recycling program that will give difficult-to-recycle items like mechanical pens and flip-flops second lives as desk organizers and playground equipment. From today until Saturday, people can take their unwanted pens, markers and mechanical pencils to Office Depot. TerraCycle, a recycling company, will then use them to make office supplies like organizers and trash cans. Additionally, anyone who recycles at Office Depot will get a coupon for Sanford products like Sharpie and PaperMate.

Two local businesses are joining in an effort that allows people to recycle products that aren’t generally accepted — flip flops and writing utensils, that is. Old Navy will accept the old flip flops through May 21 and Office Depot will take any brand of used pens, markers or mechanical pencils through April 23. Both of the Edwardsville Crossing stores are working with Terracycle Inc., an international recycle that items nobody else will and turns them into affordable, eco-friendly products.

Old Navy and TerraCycle Partner in “The Flip Flop Replay” Program Recycles Flip Flops to Build Community Playgrounds WHAT: In an effort to further reduce waste, TerraCycle Inc. and Old Navy are partnering in a month-long drive to collect used flip flops and recycle them into four public playgrounds around the country. The community is encouraged to participate by stopping by an Old Navy store to deposit used flip flops in designated collection bins. This is the first time a nationwide retailer has initiated a large-scale effort to collect and recycle flip flops.

Readers can participate in nationwide recycling programs this month by bringing used pens and flip-flops to area Office Depot and Old Navy locations. Between April 17 and 23, shoppers can bring in 10 used pens, markers or mechanical pencils to Office Depot and receive a coupon toward new Sanford products (maker of Sharpie, Expo, PaperMate). The used writing instruments will be sent to TerraCycle to be recycled into new office products such as trash cans and desk organizers. Office Depot has stores in St. Charles and Algonquin.

As an Earth Day promotion, Office Depot and Old Navy will be taking used pens and old flip-flops, respectively, to be recycled into trash cans, desk organizers and playgrounds. Through Saturday, shoppers can bring in 10 used pens, markers or mechanical pencils to Office Depot and receive a coupon toward new Sanford products such as Sharpie, Expo or PaperMate. And from Friday, which is Earth Day, to May 21, Old Navy shoppers can deposit their used flip-flops in collection bins at stores. New Jersey-based Terra-Cycle will recycle the used items. Several schools and community groups in Charleston are involved in TerraCycle's free recycling fundraisers, which pay two cents for every piece of used packaging returned. Learn more at www.terracyle.net.