Plastic bags being collected in the bins outside of Club Prior is being put to good use and the result can be found throughout the city.

The Prior Lake Lions Club, in partnership with Smoke Signals and Club Prior,  continues to coordinate the collection of clean plastic bags that are recycled and then turned into outdoor park benches.

Volunteers from the club pick up the plastic each week, which is weighed and stored until 1,000 pounds has been accumulated. Once that is achieved, an order for a park bench is placed and shipped to Trex, a manufacturer of outdoor furniture. Once created, the bench is then installed at a pre-designated location within the area.

To date, a dozen park benches have been made from the recycled plastic and and can be found at these locations: Club Prior, McKenna Crossing, Prior Lake City Hall, Fong’s, The Little Market/Smoke Signals, Cub Foods, Harbor View, Velishek Auto Sales, Prior Lake VFW, Prior Lake Pickleball Court, Doherty’s Bar and Grill and St. Paul Lutheran Church.

The bench project is just one of many efforts undertaken by Prior Lake Lions Club members.

Lions Club International has always been a strong promoter of initiatives that improve eyesight. For years, local members have assisted with vision screenings at local daycares and schools. They are scheduled to begin a new round of screenings later this month in Prior Lake elementary schools, followed by the middle schools in January, and St. Paul’s Lutheran School, St. Michael Catholic School and Aspen Academy in 2026.

Prior Lake Lions also help in restocking diabetic kits containing crackers and glucose gel packs that can be distributed by school nurses to treat children with hypoglycemia. The volunteers to do highway cleanup on a stretch of Highway 13 south of Lydia, as well. Throughout the year, the club donates to the CAP Agency and other worthy causes.