SEPTEMBER 2022

Reduce, re-use, recycle......The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Genesis 2:15 (NIV).  We, the public, have actually become much better at recycling; we generally sort our rubbish/recycling without thinking about it – we must pat ourselves on the back!
Our aim: to become a Fairtrade Church by June next year. Foodbank will not be able to do this.
A big Thank You to everyone who donated crisp packets. The Terracycle scheme has sadly ended, but I am glad to report we raised approx £150 for Wales Air Ambulance, this is fantastic!

All the big supermarkets collect soft plastics (bags, etc.) which includes crisp packets; the bin is often at the entrance. What happens to it after that...?

The situation has actually worsened, what’s happening is termed ‘greenwashing’ - making us think it’s being recycled.

Here’s a link: Watch Tracking Devices Reveal Where Recycling Really Goes - Bloomberg

REDUCE
Having said that, it is very difficult to recycle plastic, due to the many different types, so sadly, a lot of our plastic ends its life in the East being burned or in rubbish dumps. This needs prayer, but also, if we can reduce plastic purchases...? 

https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/

This year I completed 4 Webinars, mainly from Arocha UK. It is a Christian charity started in 1983 – their logo is  ‘Conservation and Hope’.  The Webinars were free across all denominations and were excellent – 1 of them had over 90 participants. Many Churches are urgently addressing the need to sign up to sustainability; approx. 376 have installed solar panels, not all are visible. This is not a way forward for us at the moment, but what is possible is that I will (with Trevor’s help) be completing the Arocha Eco Church questionnaire. The aim is to obtain a Bronze award at first, in our bid to become more sustainable. Our Church is now registered with them but I am the only person registered on their SSCC Page. I would be over the moon if more people would join!

It’s free and doesn’t commit you to anything: I have also registered with Buen, the Baptist Union Environmental Network, and am in touch with a North West Baptist Minister who has this as a particular mission.

In a bid to REDUCE our power bill there will be insulation installed, for the 1st time, under our new roofs!
Praise You Lord!

RECYCLE
Please rinse, and save milk carton lids and drinks bottle tops in Church in container on sink in Reception, and bring your own to Church too. They raise money to buy wheelchairs for those in 3rd world countries, via YGC. Surplus can be placed outside Youth room. Paper mache egg boxes (used for Fareshare) and used plastic toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes go here too. The latter go to The Willows dentists in St Asaph.

We’ll be looking again at how we dispose of rubbish in Church; today we’ll look at where our main rubbish goes (green bin) via Veolia. Our rubbish is unsorted at collection, doesn’t contain food. Once at the Energy Recovery Facility (ERF), metals are removed, recycled. It seems the remainder, including plastic, is burned to produce electricity. Here’s a link: Battlefield Energy Recovery Facility - YouTube

In 2021, the 10 ERF’s together produced enough power to supply nearly 460,000 homes. They have avoided approx. 2.5 million tonnes of waste going to landfill. We could do better; we could have a Dry Mixed Recycling bin emptied at £7 per service; at the moment this is not possible. It would also mean having several different bins in Church.

7 million coffee cups are used every day in the UK, yet less than 4% are recycled. If you’re someone who buys take-away coffee, can you take your cups and lids to Costa? They recycle all makes, via GXO; there are separate containers for cups and lids. THANK YOU if you can do this! Better still, wait till you get to Church and sample our Fairtrade coffee; thank you to John and Annie Myers, Chief Tasters!

Thank you if you’ve read this; please talk to me if you have questions – I only know a few answers, but I can find out!

Thank you also to Rachel Round, who considers Foodbank ‘in’ with Church across the board concerning sustainability and reducing waste. I am particularly interested in finding out the views/ideas of children and young people about these issues; how we can help the earth etc. Would anyone like to make bug hotels in Church?

Worried about keeping warm this winter? Heat the human not the home (moneysavingexpert.com). This is from Martin Lewis, money saving expert. I feel it imperative that we maintain a sense of positivity about climate change; it’s happening, but who knows what the Power of Prayer can release? 

www.GlobalOptimism.com But God....!

​Margaret Cummings