The following items are recycled by Our Lady’s Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation group in the parish:

• Computer printer cartridges (not laser)
• Used stamps (especially foreign ones)

We organise the recycling either to make money for charity or to make it easier for parishioners to recycle items.

We no longer accept the following for recycling:

• Blister packs from medicine packets. These can be taken to Superdrug pharmacies such as in the Whitgift Centre (Monday – Friday) or Beckenham (daily except Sunday). The reason we have stopped collecting blister packs is that Superdrug are only able to accept small amounts.
• Small batteries. These can be widely recycled in local supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s in Addiscombe and West Wickham.

How charities benefit from the recycling in church

Computer printer cartridges are recycled by ‘Empties Please’, who send any funds we raise by recycling to CAFOD.

Used stamps are sent to a variety of charities to raise income.

Where can we recycle in church?

The recycling boxes for computer cartridges and used stamps are under the table on the right of the church porch as you enter.

Why should we recycle?

Catholic Social Teaching has long recognised the importance of looking after our environment.

In his letter to everyone living on the earth, Laudato Si’, Pope Francis encourages us to care for our common home and recognise environmental stewardship as a Christian responsibility.

Bishop John Arnold, the environmental lead of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, writes:

“We are a people of hope who believe in redemption. We must study the signs of the times and take the action that is needed to repair our relationship with God’s creation.

“As is made clear in the Call of Creation, the exercise of the virtue of solidarity and the promotion of the common good, which are so needed at this time, are the responsibility of each and every individual and institution in society.”

To care for our common home, we are called as Christians to take individual responsibility for our actions, including recycling.

Contact

If you have any questions, suggestions or feedback about recycling in our parish, please contact Chris Sciberras at sciberraschris7@gmail.com, or leave a message with the parish office. If you can help with the recycling, we would also like to hear from you.