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Resources for Toxics Reduction
“The designer and maker of the earth created the
earth not to be a wasteland, but to be lived in.”
Isaiah 45:18
“If the earth were your body, you would be able
to feel the many places where it is suffering. Every day,
children and adults die because of the pollution of air
and water. These things are related.”
Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist Monk
As you might guess, most religious institutions use toxic
chemicals to clean and maintain their facilities or to eliminate
pests, usually without realizing the dangers that doing so
poses to human health and the environment…or that
there are healthier alternatives. Toxic cleaning products – often
applied in liquid form or sprayed – cause harm in two
ways:
- They run off into the ground and contaminate aquifers
and water supplies.
- They expose people – most significantly children
and workers – to unhealthy levels of toxic chemicals
which can cause long-term health damage.
 Other sources of toxic waste from religious
buildings include items that are periodically thrown out--batteries,
printer and copier cartridges--and electronic waste – cell
phones, computer equipment and electronic peripherals. Such
materials contain hazardous chemicals and heavy metals which,
if disposed of as part of the regular waste stream, spread
these dangerous substances into the environment, endangering
human and ecological health.
GreenFaith can help you as you
strive to make your religious institution a toxics-free zone.
The first step is to take a toxics self-audit so that you
are able to identify the sources of toxic waste at your facility
and begin creating strategies for eliminating this waste – either
through switching to environmentally preferable products
or by better waste disposal and recycling.
 Toxics Self-Audit for Houses of Worship
Toxics Self-Audit for Homes
Green
Cleaning
Green Cleaning Products: Safe, Healthy
Alternatives
Identifying
Green Cleaners—How Rutgers Did It
Pesticides: Safe, Healthy Alternatives
Organic Lawncare
The Disposal of Toxics
Additional Resources for Toxics Reduction
<< Back to Stewardship
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Upcoming Events:
Meeting the Sacred in Creation
Retreats Offered in Hudson Valley, Pacific Northwest, Southeast in April,
May, October 2007.
New Brunswick Environmental Health and Justice
Tour, April 18, 2007.
Prof. Larry Rasmussen to Keynote April
23, 2007 Interfaith Environmental Conference with Drew Theological School.
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