Recycling and Energy Savings

Adat Shalom Synagogue
Farmington Hills, Michigan

Adat Shalom, a Conservative shul (synagogue) in Farmington Hills, Michigan, has embraced a wide variety of recycling projects. The synagogue campus consists of a 27,000 square foot facility, containing a nursery school, religious school, two large sanctuaries, a large social hall and several meeting rooms.

Adat Shalom initiated a comprehensive paper recycling program in November of 2001, in partnership with RecycleMax. The program includes all office paper, newsprint, cardboard and mixed material (plastic, cans, bottles), which are collected in ten 90-gallon containers distributed throughout the facility. The large volume of cardboard is gathered in a separate dumpster. The congregation proudly reports that all personnel participate in the program, which costs the congregation $1,200 per year in container rentals.

But they didn’t stop there. Beginning in March of 2002, the congregation has recycled over 800 inkjet cartridges through RecyclersUSA and over 150 laser cartridges through Laser Technologies. All of the cartridges have been donated by synagogue members as well as through synagogue office use. Congregants and staff receive periodic reminders at meetings, in handouts and through the synagogue and school newsletters.

What else could they recycle? The congregation added cellular telephone recycling to their program in July of 2003, and to date has shipped 80 phones, through a partnership with Charitable Recycling. The congregation has installed an ENVIRO-BAG container in the religious school, as a test pilot for adding plastic grocery bag recycling to their recycling program.

And they did more than recycle. The congregation obtained an energy audit, and has begun implementing the recommended changes. They have replaced over 220 150-watt light bulbs in the social hall, replacing them with lower wattage (120-watt) bulbs that, with better technology, provide 40 percent better illumination. Similarly, they have refurbished the dimmer system, to further reduce costs.

Contact: Ed Kohl, sekohl@earthlink.net

Organization website: www.adatshalom.org