Three facilities share how they protect Earth

By KATHLEEN LAMANNA- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Sustainability efforts, from recycling to composting, have grown considerably in recent years. Many parishes and schools in the Albany Diocese are now "going green" in ways that benefit both the Earth and their budgets.

For example, St. Kateri Tekakwitha School in Schenectady, the Dominican Retreat and Conference Center in Niskayuna and All Saints Catholic Academy in Albany all house recycling dumpsters from a company called GreenFiber (as do Our Lady of Fatima parish in Delanson and some other parishes).

Based in Charlotte, N.C., GreenFiber is the country's largest producer of cellulose insulation. Its dumpsters are drop boxes for paper products to be recycled; the paper is made into insulation for homes and commercial buildings. The dumpsters are placed in the parking lots of many community buildings throughout the United States.

"Parishioners put their recyclables in there and they come and pick it up," said Deacon Tom Sharrow, parish manager at St. Kateri's. GreenFiber then sends the parish a check, which goes to St. Kateri School. The dumpster is "usually full every time they come," said Deacon Sharrow.

Sister Susan Zemgulis, OP, has noticed the same thing at the Dominican Retreat Center: "It gets collected every two weeks, and it's often full to the tippy-top."

The Dominican Center gets a quarterly check for its recycled paper products, making $25 per ton.

All community members, not just parishioners or retreatants, are encouraged to recycle using the GreenFiber dumpsters. "It's a wonderful way to help out the school," said Jennifer Kraus, business manager for St. Kateri School.

At All Saints Academy, the dumpsters encourage students to understand more about America's throw-away culture.

"It reduces how much waste we have in general," said science teacher Laura Nowosielski.

All Saints first got a recycling dumpster in 2009. Since then, the school has added another GreenFiber dumpster and implemented a composting system in its dining hall. The Dominican Center has implemented other sustainability efforts as well, trying to use less bottled water and more cloth napkins.

"Our goal is to find new directions," said Sister Sue.[[In-content Ad]]