Tenders of the Garden

Grab several garbage cans and their contents around the church. Don't avoid the kitchen, or offices.
Spread the contents on a plastic tarp. Using latex gloves if you are squeemish, have the kids sort the contents into categories: Compostables (including paper too contaminated to recycle, such as paper plates), Recyclables, Avoidables (paper plates and cups can be replaced with washable ones), and Trash. Discussion about which category is appropriate for a given item should be encouraged.

Weigh the results. Wow! There's only a little bit of stuff in the trash now--most of it was recyclable, avoidable, or compostable! (If the church doesn't have a compster or worm bin, look for appropriate Activities.) Share results with the rest of the congregation--Kids are leading the way!

By looking for instructions about how to live, kids can make a simple observation: In God's Creation, only human beings create waste that isn't a feedstock for further biological processes. Is a Zero Waste human economy possible? This exercise shows how easily we can reduce our garbage significantly. It also shows where redesign and policy decisions need to be made by government--an opportunity to write decision makers.