Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Outside, the street sweeper is making another pass. After the snowiest winter in years, the streets are full of sand – and trash.

Earlier this week I had a conversation about trash with Tracey Lind and Richard Horton from Cleveland’s Trinity Cathedral. (Tracey’s dean of the cathedral and Richard is chair of their Green Team.) In 2010 the cathedral reduced its waste stream by 50%; their goal is zero by 2019.

During Holy Week in 2009, the Cathedral collected and stored all its trash for two weeks. “At the end of the period,” said Lind, “we all donned boots and gloves and sorted through all of our garbage.”

The result? A better understanding of what was being tossed. And, by looking closely at what was being thrown away, Trinity was able to identify viable reduce, recycle, and reuse alternatives for half of what was thrown away.

Recycle and reuse. Reimagining our waste in ways big and small.

My mind jumps to Memphis. How clean the downtown streets were. And to “Quiltsurround”  a public art installation by Greely Myatt, commissioned to hide the City Hall heating and cooling system.

“We didn’t have a very good budget for this area and the idea of recycling is part of quilting, so I had the idea of taking the street signs that the city was going to recycle,” said Myatt. “I knew that material would withstand the outdoors.”

A quick Google search identifies a number of Episcopal Churches committed to reuse projects:

• Saint Michael the Archangel in Lexington, Kentucky is one of many congregations replacing disposable cups and plates with real dishes.
• The thrift shop at St. James in Waimea, Hawaii is part of the state’s department of environmental management’s reduce and reuse program.
• The community composting program at Saint Mark’s in Jackson Heights, Queens is part of the neighborhood’s Green Solutions for Trash program. Committed to reducing the amount of trash on city streets, Green Solutions for Trash offers a six step plan for reducing waste.
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What steps has your congregation taken to reduce its waste stream? Do you have a success story to share? Please use the comment box below, or the Your Turn feature on this site to share what’s working for you.