Recycling Program

Maplewood Mennonite Church
Fort Wayne, IN

Maplewood Mennonite Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has just about 147 members, typically with 89 of them in worship on any given Sunday. Although a relatively small congregation, during the past year they have managed to recycle 4,500 pounds of paper, 12 cubic yards of cardboard, 400 pounds of glass/plastics/aluminum -- and much, much more.

This church uses sermons, the church newsletter, and bulletin board articles to encourage one another in using the “3Rs” (reduce, reuse, recycle) as a way to increase their care for the earth that God has created. In this congregation, not only are the “3Rs” a part of ongoing church communication, they are embodied in individuals’ lives, as acts of discipleship.

Pastor Barry Schmell reports that their recycling successes involve creative and dedicated church members: “Staff uses leftover bulletins as scrap paper. Discarded CDs are used as drink coasters in the office meeting rooms. Trimmings from shrubs and bushes are allowed to decay in a member’s wooded area. Several members collect litter on daily walks. One member makes handbags out of plastic shopping bags. Beautiful quilts are made out of fabric scraps.”

The quilting group often meets at the church; they share with the Bible School craft teachers the fabric source of old sheets from local motels! Each of these small acts makes a difference, especially when their summation equals an overall reduction of waste and less consumptive lifestyle choices.

Recycling station at Maplewood Mennonite Church

In addition to recycling paper, glass, and aluminum, Maplewood Mennonite has become a central exchange for saving items from landfills by putting them as useful objects into others’ hands. For instance, 17 inactive cell phones were collected for refurbishing and reuse, some of them donated to women’s shelters. Used eyeglasses were collected and donated to the Lions Club. While church members could donate these as individuals, doing it as a congregation provides an important witness and service. Thinking of these tangible projects as part of the church’s work, and a part of the Christian call, educates church and community members about creation care faster than would a dozen written reminders about reducing, reusing, recycling.