Turn Old Flip Flops into New Playgrounds

Who doesn't have a pair of old flip flops flopping around somewhere? Maybe you've lost one shoe from two different sets and you're running around the beach in one yellow shoe and one green one. Or maybe your flip flops are just flipping or flopping too much.

Since you need some new shoes anyway, why not gather up those old, smelly flip flops and turn them into something good–like a playground. That's right. The store at is accepting your old flip flops and then recycling them into playgrounds which will be donated to communities throughout the country. They're also accepting flip flops from your parents, children and other relatives as well, so don't forget to go through their closets too.

The drive for old shoes started on April 22 and will continue until May 21. There is a brightly colored box in the front of the store to collect the shoes. (See sample in photo gallery connected to this story.)

"It's an easy way to give back," Lolita Dillard said, store manager of the Douglasville Old Navy. "We haven't gotten a whole lot yet but we hope to change that because it's for a really good cause."

"Several employees plan to bring in their shoes too," she said. "It's all in connection with . We're trying to do our part and be active in the community."

Her employees are used to giving back to the community. On May 4, she and several employees will be at Piedmont Park helping with mulching and planting.

TerraCycle is the organization teaming with Old Navy to turn old shoes into pretty places for kids to play. "This is the first time a nation-wide retailer has initiated a large-scale effort to collect and recycle flip flops," Lauren Taylor, the company's director of public relations, stated in an email.

"By bringing these hard-to-recycle products to their local stores, consumers help keep waste out of their community landfills," she added in the email. "TerraCycle is an international up-cycling and recycling company that encourages consumers to rethink waste and make it easy to have a positive impact on the environment."