This April, members across Minnesota celebrated Earth Day. However, for many MOHR members, taking care of our environment isn't just a one-day event; it's an integral part of their mission. Disability service providers across the state are finding innovative and meaningful ways to reduce their environmental footprint while continuing to deliver support to the people they serve. In honor of Earth Day, we're highlighting some of the inspiring ways that MOHR members are stepping up as environmental stewards in their communities.
Advance, Phase Industries Works Recycling with Lyon County Environmental Services
For over a decade, Advance, Phase Industries has been proud to partner with Lyon County Environmental Services in support of a meaningful and hands-on recycling program, putting their crew members at the center of real environmental impact.
The team of ten individuals handles several key recycling streams. Mattresses and car seats are carefully broken down and separated into their component materials for recycling. Clothing collected from a local thrift store is sorted, baled, and shipped for redistribution or resale, giving garments a second life. Styrofoam packaging materials are condensed and baled before being sent on for recycling, keeping this difficult-to-dispose-of material out of landfills.
East Range DAC Centers Around the Environment
by Robin Harkonen, Executive Director
ERDAC uses the tag line “Recycle, Repurpose, Reuse” as a guiding light for our in-program work areas. We believe in being good stewards of our local area and the earth. Each of our work areas includes an element from one of the areas in this tagline.
Our Rags Production area makes rags (10# and 25# boxes) for local businesses and for private home use. The fabric we use to make the rags comes from textiles donated by our local communities in one of our 12 collection bins. These items are then sorted by our client-workers to determine which should be cut up for rags, which should be saved for the Loom Room, which should be kept for the annual rummage sale, and which should be given back to the community.
All outerwear is distributed to our local areas, including schools, the Bois Forte Reservation, the Salvation Army, churches, local law enforcement, United Way, etc. Formal Wear is picked up by a local Girl Scout troop to distribute to schools, ensuring that students are not excluded from special events due to a lack of money to buy what they need. The homeless shelter, school districts, the youth shelter, St. Louis County Case Managers, etc., regularly contact ERDAC regarding clothing and related needs for people who have lost everything or are facing hard times.
Each year, on the last Friday of April and the first Friday of May, ERDAC holds a rummage sale featuring clothing (a large majority with tags still on) and other items collected throughout the year. We charge $.50 for most clothing items so that community members can afford to purchase what they need. All funds collected are donated to a local non-profit of the staff’s choosing. Over the past couple of years, and for 2026, these funds have been donated to our local food shelf.
Even all the buttons and zippers that are cut off clothing are reused. The buttons are donated to elementary classrooms, churches, nursing homes, private crafters, etc. All zippers are collected by a community member and sent to a lady in California who creates zipper art. It is estimated that approximately 125 tons of textiles and related items are kept out of landfills each year through this reuse and redistribution.
The Loom Room makes rag rugs out of the textiles that have been sorted out in the Rag Production area.
The Woodshop and Wildwood Gifts area repurposes donated furniture by redesigning and repainting or staining items, giving them new purpose and new homes.
The Special Projects area uses natural elements such as pinecones, birch bark from fallen trees, natural mosses, old Christmas Decorations, and donated decorative paper to create many one-of-a-kind decorative items sold in the gift shop.
The Paper Products area shreds donated paper from local businesses and private homes, then makes firestarters from the shredded paper. The shredded paper is stuffed into empty toilet paper tubes and then dipped in melted wax (often from old candles at churches or other places).
The Geriatric/Medical Needs area helps to produce firestarters but is also responsible for producing dryer balls. These are wool forms made from donated wool items. The wool scraps from producing these forms are then cut into pieces and stuffed into the wool forms. These dryer balls are used in place of fabric softener sheets in the dryer. This not only keeps chemicals out of the environment but also keeps the used fabric softener sheets out of the landfills.
ERDAC is not only proud of how we help our environment but also of how we give back to our communities in multiple ways.
Achieve Services Help Keep Their Community Clean
Achieve Services celebrated Earth Day by rolling up their sleeves and beautifying their local spaces. Their enthusiastic team tackled litter and debris clean-up at Laddy Lake. They also turned their efforts to the Achieve Services grounds, leaving the space fresh and well-kept. This kind of community service reflects their dedication to meaningful work, real impact, and caring for their community.
