Local Earth Day Events Can Be Found at Big Stores

Earth Day is right around the corner, and this time of year is always chock-full of environmentally friendly events, such as park clean-ups and tree plantings. However, there are a few local events worth noting that are happening at unlikely locales—large companies. 

First off, there is Target. Last weekend, the retailer gave away 1 million reusable tote bags to customers across the country in recognition of Earth Day. While the bags went quickly—I was fortunate to be in Target at the right time to unknowingly get one myself—the company is still offering a discount of between 5 and 10 cents for using any reusable bag after shopping. That policy has been in place for two years and, according to a CNNMoney report, has cut the use of plastic bags in stores drastically and saved consumers nearly $2 million. There is one Target in St. Louis Park, as well as one immediately across the city’s border with Hopkins, near the Knollwood Mall.

Also going on—but ending Saturday—is a nationwide initiative by Office Depot to collect used pens, markers and mechanical pencils, which will then be recycled into new office products such as trash cans and desk organizers. If you bring in an old writing instrument for recycling, you’ll get a coupon for a new Sanford writing product. There are several Office Depots near St. Louis Park—click here to find a store.

Then there is Old Navy, which will be collecting old, rubber flip flops and turning them into new playground equipment. The “Flip Flop Replay” starts Friday and runs through May 21.

Of course, there are still the more “traditional” Earth Day events going on locally this year as well. St. Louis Park’s annual Earth and Arbor Day Celebration is scheduled for April 30 at the . Attendees will be able to plant a tree at the center, as well as take home their own seedlings for planting.  Then, on May 21, the city will be participating in the fourth annual Minnehaha Creek Clean-up. That event was rescheduled from April 16. For more on these events and others, see the city’s website.