Green Church Committee
Minutes March 4, 2020


Present-Father Paul Conway, Chris Shoust, Betty Boissineau, Neil DelBianco, Roseanne DelBianco, Rose-Marie Valade, John Plecash
Regrets- Suzanne Shoust
Prayer-Psalm of Humanity for Creation
New Business
Guest Speaker Peter McLarty from Clean North
Peter spoke of the importance of reducing our consumption more so than recycling. People need to rethink what they do and lead by example. Composting is very important. The Christmas tree recycling project was one of the biggest projects promoted by Clean North, in addition to a water conservation program where rain barrels were produced and made available for the public.
He spoke of Maker North located at the bottom of Church Street where styrofoam is being recycled in conjunction with Ontario Works.
Peter stressed the importance of contacting our councillors to request the Hazardous Waste Depot to be open year round. He mentioned staffing as a concern. There was a question of whether volunteers could be involved and liability holds back that option.
He also spoke of the Waste Diversion Organization where manufacturers take care of post consumer use-a network chain where the cost of the item includes the cost of recycling it.
The Clean North website is wwwcleannorth.org
Business Arising
Chris contacted North Bay, Thunder Bay and Sudbury to inquire about their hazardous waste depots. Theirs are all year-round facilities. He will forward our questions regarding how their programs are run, any difficulties they have encountered. Chris also mentioned many localities are profiting from the energy from methane gas in landfills being converted to CO2.
List of non-Catholic churches- other services within their cities. Chris, Betty, Roseanne and Rose-Marie contacted them for their emails. A letter will be forwarded to them to find out what their green practices are if any.
Adopt-A-Mile- Father distributed literature regarding this program to be discussed at our next meeting.
First picture was used before Lenten masses with an invitation for parishioners to join our committee and make pledges. Some parishioners had their pictures taken as well. The committee is invited to ask others to do the same and forward their names to Rose Marie.
Next Meeting April 15,2020