St. Bart’s goes Green
 Going green! The Franciscan Sisters of the Poor do make a difference, thanks to Sr. Karen. |
t the June meeting of Cincinnati’s Archdiocesan Climate Change Task Force, the discussion focused on how to reduce the Carbon Footprint in our parishes. Several suggestions were made, but what really appealed to me was, “Does your parish recycle at their annual festival?” I didn’t know, but on Sunday morning, I approached the Chair of St. Bart’s festival and asked, “Are you going to recycle at the festival?” The answer was a prompt “No! We wanted to do this last year, but no one stepped forth and I cannot take on any more jobs.”
Well, I volunteered, and he gave me the go ahead! I emailed the members of the Climate Change Task Force and asked for ideas. I learned that three parishes recycled in 2008, and that I could contact someone at Hamilton County Solid Waste Management Department (HCSWMD). I did, and she gave excellent information and assistance.
e had to decide if we were going to have a dumpster on the property during the festival but due to cost, we decided to take recyclables to local drop off sites. The next step was to recruit volunteers to help. I put a message in our Sunday bulletin, and many parishioners offered encouraging words, and some offered to help. I invited Sisters and Associates and Sisters Marie Clement Edrich and June Casterton came on Friday evening and staffed the booth where our banner was displayed.
We were assigned to the Public Announcement booth, which also served as an information center. Steve McGraw was the announcer. His first announcement at 6:00 p.m. was “Folks, you will notice that St. Bart’s is going green this year. Please place your plastic and glass bottles in the can-tainers with the blue top. We would greatly appreciate your assistance.” He repeated it several times throughout the festival – and he also recognized the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor for initiating this project.
 Srs. Marie Clement and Karen staff the booth to encourage recycling. |
everal young people helped assemble the can-tainers. During the festival several individuals volunteered to check the bags in the 24 can-tainers that might need to be replaced, as well as remove any bottles that were in the waste containers. Others help fold cardboard and place it in separate containers. In all we had five large pick-up trucks of cardboard and other recyclables, and one long trailer of plastic bottles.
We owe many thanks to Rodney Barger, a parishioner who took the loads to the recycling site. For our first time (and we needed more can-tainers), we thought it was a great start – and next year the chair will arrange for a dumpster to be placed on the property for recycling articles next year!
n Monday, when I returned the can-tainers to the HCSWMD, the woman told me that five Catholic parishes used can-tainers at their festivals this year - and she just received two more requests, one from a lady who got the idea at St. Bart’s festival! We are very excited and know that we’re opening the way for other ideas to go green! For example, our parish picnic is scheduled for next month and I already have asked if we can recycle at the picnic…and the response was, “That’s a great idea!”
- Generating hope, Karen Hartman, SFP