Sign Up for GreenUp CleanUp

Grace Church is organizing the community of Medford to cleanup several parks this spring. We will be hosting an information session on Sunday, April 11 at 11:30am. Come get the '411' on 4/11 and enjoy some green ice cream.


Complete this web form to volunteer or speak with any member of the GreenUp CleanUp Team for more information:

• Rachael Pettengill
• Ann Frenning Kossuth
• June Pietratoni
• Linda Rogers
• Margaret Smist
• Jonathan Hunt

Join Us as we work together to improve the environment around us!

Thanks,
GreenUp CleanUp Team

Grace Church Joins Mass Interfaith Power and Light

Along our path to being better stewards of our environment, Grace Church has become a member of Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light (MIP&L). Working with MIP&L will provide us access to numerous resources focused on making houses of worship more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable. Currently we are collecting the preliminary data to conduct a thorough energy audit of the church buildings including Grace Works.

MIP&L has resources available for parishioners as well. They will help arrange for free home energy audits for our parishoners' homes as well as provide follow up advice. More information on the available resources can be found on the Resources page of the MIP&L site. We will be providing information to the congregation when we have it available.

The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts has had good experiences with MIP&L and we hope that Grace will continue that trend. You can read some recent MIP&L success stories for inspiration.

Thanks,
Jon

Juice Pouch Recycling Update - 225 and Counting

Thanks to the exceptional efforts of Hannah, Ellie and Christor, who have collected over 225 juice pouches in the first two weeks.  I hope they'll share their secrets to collecting so many juice pouches because I know they are not drinking that many themselves.  So far we have diverted over 2.5 pounds from the landfills and we are just getting started.  At the end of the month, I'll package up the pouches we have collected and mail them to TerraCycle.

If you have or know of kids (or anyone for that matter) that drinks Capri Sun, Kool-Aid or Honest Kids juice pouches, please collect them.  Try to drain as much of the liquid out and bring them to Grace Church.  There is a small box behind the recycling in the kitchen.  Please put the pouches in the zip top bag.

Thanks,
Jon

Grace Joins TerraCycle to Recycle Juice Pouches

Last Sunday, Grace Church began collecting Capri Sun, Honest Kids and Kool-Aid juice pouches to upcycle through TerraCycle.  What is upcycling you ask?  Typically when we recycle something the resulting products are of a lower grade and value, also referred to as downcycling.  For example, each time paper is recycled, the fibers that make up the paper become shorter.  That is why you usually see writing paper with a percentage of recycled content and not 100% recycled content.  Eventually the fibers become so short they won't stay together as paper so the only thing left is for them to be composted.  Upcycling on the other hand is actually making a product with higher value than the recycled material such as juice pouches.  TerraCycle takes the juice pouches we collect and turns them into products like back packs and reusable shopping bags which they sell at stores like Home Depot and Walmart.

In addition to doing our part for the environment by recycling, we also receive 2¢ per pouch for the church.

We have a box behind the recycling bins in the kitchen that you can put your empty juice pouches, either Capri Sun, Honest Kids or Kool-Aid.  Once we have enough to make it worth while, we will send them to TerraCycle to be upcycled.

So, have your kids bring back home their juice pouches from school lunches and snacks.  If you're willing, have them ask their friends to give them their juice pouches as well and we'll recycle and raise even more.  Then drop them off in the box when you come to church.

TerraCycle upcycles a number of other things that we could collect, so please let us know which of these we should sign up for and start collecting:

• Stonyfield Yogurt Containers
• Potato Chip Wrappers
• Candy Wrappers
• and many more (there are 5 pages of them)

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact:
   Jonathan Hunt at jmhunt@mit.edu or (781) 874-0493.

Let us all be stewards of this earth our island home.

Thanks,
Jon

Details from TerraCycle's FAQ:

Do I need to clean the pouches before putting them in the bag?
We ask that you remove the straws and ensure that the liquid is removed from the pouches as much as possible. If you can, it does help if you cut the pouch at the top above where the straw is inserted, however this step is NOT required. This cleaning process will also help eliminate unwanted pests.

How much do you pay per drink pouch?
We credit your charity $.02 per Honest Kids, Capri Sun and/or Kool-Aid drink pouch.

Grace Recycles!

This year Medford has started collecting paper recycling from business districts, including from Grace Church. You can find a large (4') green container for paper recycling in the coatroom, please put paper there, and not in the trash barrels.

However, they have not yet started collecting other recyclables (plastic, aluminum, glass). It is important to the members of Grace that we recycle as much as possible. Therefore we have put a large bin for co-mingle recyclables in the kitchen. Because Medford does not have an option to collect these from Grace, we are asking members to take the recyclables produced at church home with them and put them in their own recycle bins. Recyclables can also be taken directly to the Drop-Off Center at City Yard, 21 James St in Medford.

For more information on Medford recycling, please see the Medford Recycling web pages.

If you're willing to take home recyclables produced at Grace Church, and put them in your own curbside recycling, or have questions please contact Alicia Hunt, iggy@mit.edu or 781-874-0493.

Welcome

Grace Church Medford welcomes you to our blog about our Environmental Stewardship mission.  Join us as we journey and become better stewards of the gifts God has given.  More to come soon.