Five million pounds. That’s the amount of material kept out of Washington State landfills over the last 30 years thanks to the members of Wesley United Methodist Church in Yakima, WA. The church placed a recycling center in its parking lot almost 30 years ago. A core group of volunteers—with an average age of 76—processes 60,000 pounds of recyclables every month.

“This is much more complicated than simply having people drop off their recyclables and then trucking it all to the recycling center,” said the church’s pastor, Rev. Terry Hall. “People leave all sorts of things, from plain old garbage to used carpets, stoves and toilets.” The volunteers sort waste and break down cardboard, and then haul recyclables to the recycling center and non-recyclables to the landfill.

The work increased when the City of Yakima reduced its curbside recycling program and other recycling sites closed due to a lack of workers. Yet the Wesley volunteers are going strong. The church youth recently started to help, and they are also recruiting neighborhood high school students who need to fulfill community service requirements. Hall noted, “I’m betting they can come up with more efficient ways to do this work.”

The fruits of the program extend into the broader life of the church. Last year, the group earned nearly $20,000 for redeemed metal and glass—money that is used for ministry. In addition, because members value keeping waste out of landfills, they stopped using Styrofoam cups at coffee hour, and instead rely on a group called “The Muggers” to wash their reusable mugs each week.  Hall noted, “This is not something I started, but something that has risen up from the congregation!”

Wesley UMC
Contact: Rev. Terry Hall
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