Start your Earth Day Action Quest today!

Earth Day is a day for the global community to come together around our shared planet – together, we can change the world! Activities you find here will help you reduce your impact on the Earth and be a better steward of resources.

Complete at least three activities to be entered into a drawing for a $25 Visa gift card.
Click the badge at the bottom of the page to enter.


The final day of the Earth Day Action Quest is April 30. Happy trails!

Challenges

Click on the categories below to see the different challenges.

Waste Audit

Keep track of everything you throw in the trash today. Click to read more.

Food: Too Good to Waste

Learn how to store your food so that it lasts longest. Click to read more.

Swap it out!

Make simple swaps for reusable items to reduce your waste. Click to read more.

Shop Low Waste

Reduce waste while grocery shopping. Click to read more.

R&E Center and the Waste Hierarchy

Learn about the waste hierarchy and where your trash goes. Click to read more.

Express Thanks

Thank a favorite restaurant for its green practices. Click to read more.

Repair

Instead of tossing out broken items, challenge yourself to fix them instead. Click to read more.

Donate

Donate your time, skills, gently used items, food and more. Click to read more.

Product Reuse

Did you know both counties have spaces where you can get free products such as paints, stains, automotive fluids, and household cleaners? Click to read more.

Buy Second Hand

Donating old items is great, but buying second-hand is important as it ensures that those items are used. Click to read more.

Furniture Forever

Do you have gently used furniture that could go to a new home? Click to read more.

Sort it Out

Recycle only items that are accepted by your hauler. Click to read more.

Be a Battery Hero!

Bring batteries to your county’s collection site. Click to read more.

Household Hazardous Waste

Dispose of household hazardous waste (HHW) at a drop-off location near you. Click to read more.

Food Scraps

Start collecting food scraps at your home. Click to read more.

Material Recovery Facility

Check out what happens at Shakopee’s Dem-Con MRF and prepare to be amazed. Click to read more.

Tour the R&E Center

Take a virtual tour of the Ramsey/ Washington Recycling & Energy Center. Click to read more.

Take the Lead Out

Exchange your lead fishing tackle for a non-lead tackle. Click to read more.

Parks, Parks, Parks!

Explore one of the 24 regional and county parks in your own backyard! Click to read more.

Find it at Your Local Library

Read a book about nature – plants, animals, climate, landscapes! Click to read more.

Medicine Drop Box

Clean out your medicine cabinet and dispose of your unwanted and expired medicines. Click to read more.

More Ways to Get Involved

Create your own challenge to complete this Earth Day. The ideas included here are just a small sample of countless things you can do to advocate for your local environment. Maybe you’re especially interested in protecting your local waterways, or maybe you want to start a vegetable garden (using nutrient-rich local compost!), join a buy-nothing group, or plant flowers for pollinators. Perhaps it’s climate change, or environmental justice or reducing plastic consumption that you’re most concerned about. Whatever your idea is, add it here, and go for it!

Sign up to volunteer today! Check out a local environmental group doing work in your community. Sign up to volunteer! You’ll meet new people and do important work to help protect the health and wellbeing of our communities and our environment!

Watch a documentary or video about waste! Watch one of the videos below to learn more
about waste and how it affects our environment.

  • The Story of Stuff – YouTube
  • Wasted! The Story of Food Waste (3 copies available at the Washington County Library)
  • A Plastic Ocean (6 copies available at the Washington County Library)
  • About R&E Video

Download the full list of challenges here.

Click the badge to complete your quest