September 26, 2006

Greening Maroubra

Maroubra Junction Uniting Church is undergoing a green transformation.
"Project Green Church" - a multi-layered project to make the church more ecologically sustainable - has been endorsed by local federal MP and Minister for Reconciliation and the Arts Peter Garrett.

Acting out of a concern for Christian stewardship and the need to care for God's creation, the project has introduced many simple and effective ways to make the church more sustainable.

The church installed a rainwater tank, which provides water for toilet flushing and a tap to water the church's lawn.

The second part of the project is the installation of a grey water treatment system. Grey water - made up of the wastewater from showers, baths, hand basins, laundry tubs, washing machines, dishwashers and kitchen sinks - will be used by the church for flushing toilets, washing clothes and in the garden, with an anticipated saving of around 720 litres of fresh water each day.

Other planned initiatives include the installation of a solar hot water system (saving 50 to 80 per cent of the church's water heating energy consumption), switching the church to green power (reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 45 tons per year) and the establishment of a car share project in conjunction with Randwick City Council.

Geoff Callaghan, one of the founders of the project, said, "If we want to leave our children an inhabitable planet, we have to stop global warming and environmental degradation. For too long now we as a church have been comfortably detached from the consequences of our actions, ignoring the environmental damage we cause."

Contact Geoff on geoffcallaghan@hotmail.com or 0405 916 731.