We all talk about it. How can we get our churches to purchase more sustainable products?
We can tell administrators and staff to buy LEDs, recycled toilet paper and copy paper that is FSC certified. While it might roll off our tongues, it might not stick in your administrator’s brains. You can send an email, but it might get lost. How about asking them to bookmark a page that is easily accessible from the bookmark toolbar? Maybe that will work. Of course, the best way is for them to save their items where ever they shop online.
This list has been created as a guide but also for convenience. Please note all the products are listed on Amazon because you can get all the product details there for each item. This is not a dictation to shop Amazon. Just a place where you can research but if you shop Amazon already then you can save these items to reorder them. You can even place them on automatic reorder. By buying in bulk and multiple products at once it will reduce shipping costs, if not prevent shipping costs in total.
Paper Products
- Copier/Printer Paper – How much paper does your church office go through? Are you using both sides? If not, one sided paper can become notepads for church staff replacing post-it notes. Put signs on all printers and copiers. Do I really need paper for this? Can I send this electronically? Once again start with reduce and shoot for a paperless office. The best answer to copier paper is paper made out of bagasse. Bagasse is the waste from sugar cane that before it got transformed was just burned. Bagasse is one of those things that is truly environmental. A by-product that gets renewed into something reusable. No one will be able to tell the difference. If you can’t find it, then the highest recycled content paper you can find is the way to go. Make sure you take care of the afterlife of paper and recycle it after both sides are used. Paper is the easiest thing to recycle.Recycled paper and bagasse is more expensive than “virgin” paper, but if you focus on the reduce first then you can afford the extra expense and still come out under budget.
- TreeFrog Tree-Free Copy Paper – Bagasse paper. By the case. 500 sheets per ream.
- Printworks 100 Percent Recycled Multipurpose Paper – 100% Recycled paper. 400 sheets per ream.
- Toilet paper – Not on the top of everyone’s list. Of all the paper things we use this should be 100% recycled. Sparing you the technical conversation, no virgin trees in developing countries should cut down for toilet paper. What if every church would simply make this one change?
We have two solutions depending on the size of your church:
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- Georgia Pacific Envision Toilet Paper – 80 rolls. Ships in 2 cases.
- Caboo Tree-Free Bamboo Toilet Paper – Paper made from ultra-renewable bamboo. 12 rolls.
- Restroom Paper towels – There are so many configurations of paper towels. It’s hard to guide except to say get as close to 100% recycled as possible. If you have a big church you might want to consider one of the automatic disposable machines, but only in the most popular restrooms. If you have a restroom on the third floor that gets used three times on Sunday and never during the week, skip that one. Automatic dispensers can reduce paper towel use up to 30%. So, use your best discretion.
- Pacific Blue Basic Recycled Multifold Paper Towel – 250 towels per pack. 16 packs per case.
- GP Pacific Blue Ultra Paper Towels on Roll – 6 rolls. 1150’ per rolls.
- Kitchen Paper Towels – The first thing you should be doing in the kitchen is reducing! Our recommendation is using Skoy cloths. Made from recycled paper, these are great for wipe ups and replace 15 rolls of paper towels. That being said sometimes paper towels are needed in the kitchen. For professional kitchens you night need professional paper towels, see above. For smaller kitchens here are some recommendations.
- Skoy Eco-friendly Cleaning Cloth – 4 per pack.
- Seventh Generation Unbleached Paper Towels – 24 rolls
- Paper Cups – Of course the goal is no disposable items. At our church all the Sunday School classes have converted to bringing their own mugs. People forget and then of course there are the guests. Your guests should have a cup of coffee! So, implement bring your own mug first and then these recycled cups are the best we could find from an environmental perspective. Note: If the paper cup is lined with plastic then it is not compostable nor recyclable unless otherwise stated.
Most importantly! No more Styrofoam. Estimates say Styrofoam will last for 500 years plus it breaks apart and ends up in fish.
- Biodegradable and Compostable 12 Oz Paper Coffee Cups – Plastic lining is plant based. Whoo Hoo!
- Eco-Products Evolution World PCF Hot Cups – DO NOT Microwave
- Paper Plates – NO more Styrofoam. Churches are filling landfills with Styrofoam. As churches, we must lead by example and there is too much information now about the plastics which Styrofoam is, for us to continue to use. We must be good stewards of our money but that can not be the only consideration. The health of God’s creation must be weighed against the cost. Tenths of pennies cost less does not justify 500 years of waste in our oceans and on our lands. The reduce option? Have members bring their own plates for a meal and have them take home. Before you say Ewww, people who bring meals for potluck are doing the same thing. Right? Of course. Casserole comes to the pot-luck, dirty dish goes home. See? Same thing.
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- Dart Bare Eco-Forward Sugarcane Dinnerware – 500 to a case. 8.25”
- Natural Sugarcane Bagasse Bamboo Fibers Sturdy Seven Inch Compostable Eco Friendly Environmental Paper Plate Alternative – Choice options 125, 500, 1000 7”
LEDs Light Bulbs and Energy Efficiency
Some churches have already started working on replacing lights. We do not condone taking out traditional bulbs that still have life. Instead replace as they burn out. The one exception is if you pay for an energy retrofit. What do you do with the bulbs then? Save them for the fixtures that don’t get replaced, or donate to another church or non-profit who can use them. Energy retrofits can qualify for rebates. If you do something large, check with your utility company before you begin to see what rebates you qualify for.
Considerations for energy efficiency motion sensors. Why get them? The light goes off when the room is empty. No I forgot and the light burned for hours because someone forgot. Consolidating weekly activities in the most used areas of the church can save your church big money. Get an independent energy audit to find out where the problems are and how to mitigate them. Finally, consider limiting church hours especially during the summer so you can save on your energy bills.
- LED Bulbs – Research and compare
- Commercial Motion Sensors – Research and compare
Miscellaneous
Of course, there are hundreds of things your church purchases. Here is a list of things that can help underline your commitment to caring for God’s creation. All have some type of eco-minded feature.
- BIC Ecolutions Round Stic Ball Pen – 74% recycled content
- Onyx and Green 10-Pack Gel Pens, Recycled Plastic, Hybrid Oil-Based Gel
- 100% Recycled White #10 Envelopes
- Earthwise by Ampad 19706 100% Recycled Paper Catalog Envelope
- Pendaflex Recycled Hanging File Folders, Letter Size
- Earthwise by Pendaflex 74520 Recycled Paper File Folder
- ACCO Recycled Paper Clips
- 2 Ounce of Rubber Bands, Made from 100% Natural Rubber
- 2-Pack Mechanical Pencils
- 4-Pack Broad Highlighters
- Scissors, 6.75-Inch
- 4-Pack Fine Highlighters
- 40-Pack of Push Pins
- 24 Pack of Colored Pencils, Pre-Sharpened, Made from Recycled Newspaper
- Double Sharpener, Metal, Bamboo
- 125-Pack Self-Adhesive Arrow Strips, Recycled PET
- TreeSmart Recycled Newspaper Pencils
- Permanent Markers 5mm Round Tip, Black Ink, Non-Toxic, Eco-Friendly Marker Pens, Made from Recycled PET Plastic
- 12 Inch Bamboo Ruler, Eco-Friendly Ruler
- EcoMojiWare Disposable Cutlery & Flatware – Order Spoons, Forks and Knives separately.
- Birchware Classic – Compostable Wooden Forks
- Earth’s Natural Alternative Wheat Straw Fiber, Tree Free Dinner Napkins – 13 Inch x 13 Inch, 100 Count
- Repurpose 100% Compostable Plant-Based Clear Cold Cup – 12-ounce, 50 per pack
- Repurpose 100% Compostable Plant-Based Clear Cold Cup – 16 ounce, 50 per pack
A few comments about shopping on Amazon. Always check the price. Amazon changes pricing all the time. Sometimes it is less expensive to purchase individual packs than in bulk. These links are affiliate links. It was faster and more convenient to do it that way. It does not affect your pricing. You can look up these items on your own if you don’t want to participate in supporting the work that went into this list.