HSHRenew has been in operation for one year. (Adam Studzinski/WJBC)

By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – Home Sweet Home Ministries is celebrating a successful first year for its textile and shoe recycling program.

Through the first eleven months of the program HSHRenew has resulted in more than 1.2 million pounds of clothing being recycled. Spokesman Matt Drat expects that number to be over 1.7 million pounds by the end of the year.

"What we're really looking at is a success," said Drat. "Not just for HSHRenew and the program for our community recycling efforts, but we want to label this a success for the community at large."

Drat added over 450,000 pounds of those clothes were able to be repurposed and sold through Home Sweet Home's Mission Mart stores.

"Just because something isn't good for me, it could be good for someone else to wear. The repurposing, the renewable fashion aspect of what we're trying to do through HSHRenew will be one of the focus areas of 2015," he said.

The program also met its goal of locating recycling bins at ten spots, many of them churches, in the Twin Cities.

"I think what we're looking as we have completed our goal is to look at locations in other parts of the community that increase access to textile clothing and shoes recycling," Drat said.

Looking to 2015, Drat said Home Sweet Home will be holding mega recycling days.

"A mega recycling event that focuses in on clothing and shoes at a location, on a Saturday, where people can come," said Drat. "And whatever they have in their closets they need to get rid of, come and bring them there."

Drat said because of the success of HSHRenew, Home Sweet Home has been named a finalist in the Green Business category of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence awards.

All of the net financial proceeds from HSHRenew go back into services at Home Sweet Home. More information about the program can be found at hshrenew.org.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].