GREENING SYNAGOGUES RESOURCES

Kitchen

Styrofoam has become something of a symbol of everything wrong with modernity. A Styrofoam cup is made from refined oil shipped over from the Persian Gulf or from under some wilderness area, used for just 5 or 10 minutes, and then hauled away to a landfill where it will sit for 1000 years or more. Eco-kashrut practitioners ask “what’s kosher about that?!” And indeed, the mere presence of Styrofoam at shul is enough to make many folks turn away, writing off the community as one which “doesn’t get it.” The truth is actually somewhat more complex; neither paper nor plastic cups are much better, and depending on how and where it’s set up, a system for washing reusable cups can waste a lot of energy, water, detergent, and other resources. But the point remains: what goes on in our kitchens and social halls is a reflection of our values, and needs to be taken seriously as such.

Some key decisions about kitchens have to be made when the shul is designed -- if there’s no room for an industrial-strength dishwasher or for the storage of many dishes, then there may be no way to trim a synagogue’s paper or plastic profligacy (see Kitchen Overview). But a huge number of choices lie ahead of every synagogue, even those who rent their facilities. A few ways to cut down on the amount of disposable ware used at shul include:

• Buy simple, reusable plates -- believe it or not, 3-for-$1 heavy plastic plates may be a top choice, not only because of price but because they’re unbreakable, and re-washable hundreds of times over. Simple glass plates may be preferred by communities which follow traditional kashrut.
• How to wash those plates? (1) a heavy-duty dishwasher, just like the caterers would use, but staffed either by janitors or by volunteers. (2) do-it-yourself: less formal communities might set out four pails of water (rinse/scrape, warm soapy, warm rinse, rinse) along with sponges and dishtowels, and ask everyone to wash their own plates, cups, and cutlery. This can be a great community-building exercise, too!
• Or, make your own. Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation has long been known for its onegs, a full vegetarian lunch every Saturday for every shul-goer. When it rented from a JCC with minimal access to a kitchen and no dishwasher, they found a company which made reusable picnic plates with lids -- and had hundreds of them made, stamped with the synagogue logo and the line, “Adat Shalom Eats Well.” These (which cost only $2 or $4 each to make) were sold as a fundraiser for environmental enhancements for their under-construction building. Folks would bring them from home, along with their talit and other prayer accessories, and take them home to wash themselves. You can do it too, with any local supplier, or even with store-bought picnic plates and your own computer-generated stickers or labels.
• Encourage people to bring their own plates, cups, and cutlery, if kashrut standards allow for it. Make sure that your mashgiach (kashrut certifier) is sensitive to environmental concerns, which are a value rooted in halacha no less than the details of meat and milk…. At the very least, put up signs encouraging folks to take just one cup, and refill it as necessary…

Other impacts need to be considered, as well. Make sure that you have easy-to-follow recycling set up for the many glass jars, metal cans, and plastic bottles that come through the kitchen. Think carefully about paper towels -- are they necessary at all, and if so, can you use the 100% recycled ones which are now readily available? And perhaps above all, think about where food leftovers go -- these can be “recycled” in a harmonious marriage of environmental and social responsibility by establishing a relationship with a local food pantry or shelter, and donating leftovers on a regular basis. See groups like “America’s Second Harvest” for more information about this.

Finally, consider the impact of what’s on the menu. Given the environmental impact of food production and transport, what we eat is ultimately more important than how or where or on what we eat it. Organic food, wherever possible, is decidedly preferred. And a 6/30/04 COEJL e-bulletin entry summarizes the huge implications of choosing a milchig / dairy / vegetarian over a fleischig / meat menu:

GO GREEN: The Jewish Case for Going Veggie
Jewish teachings are filled with lessons of compassionate treatment of animals. Moses and King David were deemed suitable for leadership by showing respect to their sheep; Rebecca was chosen as Isaac's wife because of her kindness in watering Eliezer's ten camels; and according to the Ten Commandments, animals as well as people are to rest on the Sabbath day (Ex. 20:8-10, Deut. 5:12-14; the Talmud places relieving an animal from pain or danger above rabbinic ordinances about the Sabbath). In contrast to this traditional compassion for animals (tsa’ar ba’alei chayim), most conditions under which animals are raised for food today are quite different from any the Torah might have endorsed. Moreover, the meat industry wastes enormous amounts of resources: one pound of hamburger meat requires hundreds of gallons of water, and ten to sixteen pounds of grain (along with pesticides, erosion, etc). And some 3.25 acres of land are needed to produce a one-year food supply for a meat-eater. Food for thought! See www.jewishveg.com for more info. If you aren't about to go 'cold turkey’ vegetarian, consider at least buying Kosher organic meats (www.wiseorganicpastures.com). But either way, consider these environmental facts -- and these Jewish values -- when choosing what's for lunch.

Some additional resources for greening the synagogue kitchen follow, including the details of how one Philadelphia community weaned itself from using disposable kiddush cups:

Organic Food
Organic Consumers Association promotes food safety, organic farming and sustainable agricultural practices in the U.S. and internationally
Alternative Farming Systems Information Center -- a general web resource on organic agriculture, community supported agriculture.
Fair Trade, Shade-Grown Organic Coffee -- non-certified coffees come with exploited workers, denuded ecosystems, and toxic legacies; only fair trade is, perhaps, “kosher.”

ECO – KIDDISH at Germantown Jewish Center, Philadelphia
from Betsy Platkin Teutsch, Fall 2003

How did synagogues serve kiddush before the creation of cheap, disposable plastics? This is a question like "what did folks do before photocopying?". There is a simple answer: we washed dishes. (And the answer to the xerox mystery is: we used carbon paper and mimeograph machines). Once labor became more expensive than using disposable plastic and paper eating utensils (because the environmental costs of resource consumption is not born by the producer or consumer of the product, but by the whole planet), it has become increasingly rare for food and drink at any event to be served on real plates, with real cups, and actual silverware.

Minyan Dorshei Derekh in Mount Airy, part of the Germantown Jewish Centre (Philadelphia, PA), decided to look into reviving the ancient ways of plates and glasses. We found 2 oz glass cups at IKEA for 37 cents a piece - they are designed to hold tea lights, but are ideal individual kiddush cups. They have flat bottoms and stack, so they are easy to transport and run through the dishwasher. We also bought heavy plastic (dishwasher safe) small plates and cups. The entire purchase, for a typical setup for around 50 people, was about $75.00. We also purchased a plastic tote bag and a plastic bin to collect and transport them.

We put out the plastic bin and people place their soiled cups and plates directly in it. Our challenge is that our space has no sink or dishwasher. We have established a system of toranut (rotating service) whereby a volunteer (we have six, so it only requires doing this chore once every six weeks) takes responsibility for bringing the dishes home and returning them by the next week. The dishes typically constitute one full load on the dishwasher's shortest cycle. For a community with an adjacent dishwasher, the logistics would be far simpler.

The reaction was overwhelmingly positive. We initiated this in order to be less wasteful, but in fact this "Kiddushware" is much more aesthetically pleasing. People experience it as a significant Shabbat upgrade.

Think of how many tens of thousands of plastic kiddush cups are thrown away each shabbat by congregations all across America! This is a simple way to make not just an environmental statement, but have an environmental impact.