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Health & Fitness

Styrofoam Recycling Day at Temple Jeremiah

In furtherance of its efforts to assist the community in reducing its carbon footprint, Temple Jeremiah’s Green Team is sponsoring a Styrofoam collection and recycling day on Sunday, Dec. 8 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Members will be encouraged to bring any Styrofoam packing that they might have from the recent Chanukah holiday or from any other source and the Temple Jeremiah Green Team has arranged for it to be recycled.  

The Styrofoam collection is part of Temple Jeremiah’s participation in the GreenFaith Certification Program, the nation’s first interfaith environmental certification process for houses of worship. Temple Jeremiah joins Temple Beth-El (Northbrook), B’nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim (Deerfield), Temple Sholom (Chicago), and United by Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church (Evergreen Park) as a participant in this prestigious national program.

“Many people are unaware that Styrofoam can be recycled,” said Barry Slotnick, chair of Temple Jeremiah’s Green Team.

“We wanted to make the recycling process easy for our members by giving them an opportunity to simply drop off at the temple any Styrofoam that they had in their homes after the Chanukah holiday,”  said Rabbi Emily E. Segal, associate rabbi at Temple Jeremiah, who is also leading the temple’s green efforts.

The United States is 5 percent of the world's population but uses 25 percent of its natural resources, according to the U.S. EPA. The average American creates 4.5 pounds of garbage per day, according to the Story of Stuff.  By continuing to make recycling opportunities simple for its members, Temple Jeremiah continues to be at the forefront of environmentally responsive behavior for the entire community.

Rabbi Segal said, “As we continue through the GreenFaith process, we realize that there are so many opportunities to live out our ‘green’ values. We hope that making our environment and our community healthier will become second nature for all of us.”

The GreenFaith program is designed to help churches, synagogues, mosques and temples earn recognition as environmental leaders by carrying out over two dozen environmental activities over two years.  


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