Give Up for the Earth this Lent

 

 Lent - the 40 days leading up to Easter - is a time that many Christians spend repenting, sacrificing, and listening to God. Whether or not you have observed Lent in the past or already plan on sacrificing something for Lent this year, I encourage you to consider using the next 40 days to show the Earth some love. 

I was inspired this year by Interfaith Power & Light's Creation Care Calendar, which includes a small action to take for each of the next 40 days. It also includes great ideas and links to resources specific to the State. You can find the Maryland version of the calendar here.

There are many actions we take on a daily basis that impact our environment. Even just changing one small thing for 40 days can make a real difference. Here are some ideas of small changes you can make for lent:

• Give up plastic. (Ideas to help you do this here.)  
• If you can't give up all plastic, just give up plastic bottles and/or plastic bags.  
• Set a timer and take shorter showers. 
• Eat less meat - you could follow the traditional practice of having no meat on Fridays. 
• Turn your thermostat down by a degree or two 
• Wash your clothes in cold water  
• Hang your clothes to dry instead of using a dryer  
• Use fewer (or no) disposables - bring a reusable coffee mug to work, use reusable bags for shopping, cloth napkins for meals, rags for cleaning up.
• Focus on recycling everything you can, including bringing your energy bar, snack bag, and baby food pouch waste to the UUCR Terracycle bins.

 Are you giving up anything for lent or starting a new habit? We would love to hear what you are doing. Comment below!

Terracycle

Have you noticed some special bins outside of Founder's Hall the last few months? They are our Terracycle containers! What is Terracycle? I'm glad you asked!

TerraCycle upcycles and recycles traditionally non-recycable waste into a large variety of consumer products. We have joined their "brigades" for snack bags, energy bars and now baby food pouches (new this month!) Because they are designed to accept these particular items, we ask that you put general recyclables in the recycling bins around UUCR, and only place the appropriate items in the bins.

Terracycle

The snack bag brigade can take individual, multi-pack, and family sized snack bags.

Snack Bag Brigade

The energy bar brigade includes all foil lined wrappers for energy bars, granola bars, meal replacement bars, protein bars, and diet bars.

Energy Bar Brigade

Our newest brigade - the baby food pouch brigade - accepts all baby food pouches, along with their caps.  As a Mom of a 10-month old and a 2-year old, I know how convenient and popular those pouches are!

This image only shows "Earth's Best" pouches; the Baby Food Pouch Brigade accepts all brands.

We are happy to offer this resource to care for our earth by recycling these items that otherwise would go in the trash.  We hope that you find it useful.