Composting creates opportunities for renewable growth at Pittsburgh synagogues
Loving the earth one kiddush at a time
At some Pittsburgh synagogues, optimizing a spiritual home means looking in the trash.
Since last summer, Congregation Beth Shalom members have worked with congregational leaders to reduce the amount of waste created during synagogue-related events.
Shari Woldenberg, Derekh coordinator at Beth Shalom, said the effort began after several congregants who had scheduled bar and bat mitzvahs at the Squirrel Hill synagogue asked about composting, a process that protects the climate by reducing waste and methane emissions from landfills.
Before members’ requests, Beth Shalom had operated similarly to many large institutions: Events were held, trash was collected and the cycle repeated.
Woldenberg said she was curious about the families’ request and investigated the matter.
What she discovered, she continued, was that — whether during a Saturday morning kiddush or any other event with food — the congregation relied on “big black bins” lined with single-use plastic bags to contain all its refuse. Various items were disposed of, with little regard for what was collected or where it went.
That process didn’t need to continue, she said.
Woldenberg and other synagogue members requested a grant from Beth Shalom’s board to support a temporary composting program.
Synagogue leadership provided the applicants with $1,000, Woldenberg said.
Since receiving those funds — which cover about six months of composting costs at Beth Shalom — waste has decreased.
Every Wednesday, a composter comes to the building and collects a can full of compost-friendly plates, cups and cutlery mostly collected from each week’s kiddush. The big green bin of items is taken to a pit where the used goods break down, Woldenberg said.
The effort, she continued, ensures waste doesn’t end up in a landfill.
Beth El Congregation of the South Hills follows a similar process to get the same results.
According to Chris Benton, Beth El’s executive director, the congregation works with AgRecycle to “reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill.”
Since 1991, the Pennsylvanian company has composted “exclusively using scraps and trimmings that were otherwise landfill bound,” according to representatives. The only additives to AgRecycle’s process are “sunshine and rainwater.”
Whether following a Shabbat kiddush or other synagogue event with food, Beth El members collect kitchen scraps, compostable paper goods, cutlery, paper and cardboard. The items are deposited, with regular pickups ensuring the materials are appropriately hauled away, Benton said.
Beth El isn’t new to the process. The suburban synagogue “has been composting since 2014 as part of an ongoing greening initiative,” Benton said. ”Donations to the congregation’s Greening Fund help to offset the cost.”
Drew Barkley, executive director of Temple Sinai, said that although Temple Sinai doesn’t currently compost he’s hoping the situation changes.
As the Squirrel Hill synagogue continues its unification process with Rodef Shalom Congregation in Shadyside, composting remains on Barkley’s list of projects to explore.
“About a year and a half ago when it became possible that we are moving buildings and having a little larger staff, I thought it would be a good time to reimagine the possibilities of doing all the things that we are not doing now,” he said. “We want to institute more programs here that are better for the earth.”
Barkley’s passion for the project reflects a larger objective.
“We are trying to broaden and serve the greater Jewish community,” he said. “This is something we definitely want to do. We want to implement a more organized and more structured recycling program, and we want to do the same thing with produced waste.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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