Fast for the Earth 2024

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10 We have often have a lot of clutter in our homes. Our junk may well be someone else’s treasure so today’s challenge is to go through our cupboards and give away unused items Here are some tips! If you have a very cluttered house then don’t do it all in one go! Aim for a couple of hours at a time and decide on one room or one cupboard. How about one area per weekend Once you’ve decided where to sort out, take a before and after photo – this will give you a great sense of achievement! Once you have decided where to start, sort items into five  piles, you could have a box or bag for each one Celebrate turning your junk into treasures for other people – and I hope you find some forgotten items that you can enjoy again!

Do not pollute the land where you are: Numbers 35:33 The majority of our rubbish ends up on landfill When you put your rubbish into a black bin bag to go to landfill, the rubbish rots inside the bag, and when it bursts , it releases methane By lining your bin with newspaper or a brown paper bag, once the food waste goes onto the landfill it can biodegrade So try to do these two actions – recycle all your plastic and line your bin which is going to landfill with paper not plastic! Here is a video to help you line your bin! The world keeps generating more and more rubbish. We live in a throw-away society and we’re paying the price; we don’t know what to do with all our waste. . Most rubbish ends up in landfills. Landfill sites currently contain approximately 40% of the world’s waste and that the 50 largest landfill sites impact the daily lives of 64 million people — equivalent to the entire population of France. How does landfill work? A landfill site is a location that has been prepared for the purpose of dumping waste, rubbish or debris. Before the land is used to store waste, diggers are used to give it a suitable shape and it is covered with an artificial water-resistant coating to prevent the rubbish from contaminating the soil. The law states that landfill sites must be located away from inhabited areas, as well as areas used for farming or drinking water. Waste is crushed and compacted—so it occupies as little space as possible—then transported in lorries to outdoor landfill sites, where it is dumped and buried under layers of soil to decompose. But the truth is that much of this waste take years to decompose due to the conditions of the landfill sites—where there is little oxygen and moisture—and the characteristics of the materials. Why are landfill sites so harmful to the environment? Burying waste in the ground has an impact on our environment, even when done in a controlled manner. The main problems that municipal landfill sites generate for the environment are detailed below. 1. Landfill are one of the causes of climate change Landfill sites are partially responsible for global warming as they generate and release biogas into the atmosphere. Biogas is a mixture formed primarily of methane gas (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂), two of the gases that cause climate change and an increase in the planet’s temperature. Landfill sites will account for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. 2. They can cause fires or explosions Sometimes methane produced by waste from landfill sites can cause explosions and fires. This downside is more common than meets the eye, because the fires that occur are not regular fires with flames, but fires that occur inside the landfill. Dioxin emissions from these spontaneous uncontrolled fires are also very harmful to the environment, not to mention the damaging effects they have on aquifers, whose waterproofing membranes are affected by the fire. 3. They can contaminate soil and water Landfill sites are often responsible for the contamination of soil and groundwater, as the contaminating materials (such as heavy materials like lead and mercury) that the stored waste may contain can spread to the soil and water near the plant. 4. Landfills alter the fauna Landfill sites have particularly negative effects on bird migration. Some birds feed from landfill sites , inevitably ingesting plastic, aluminium, gypsum and other materials that are common among waste, which can even prove fatal. 5. Landfills reduce the value of the surrounding areas The bad smells that emanate from landfill sites cannot be effectively controlled and, almost inevitably, reach nearby populations. Property prices are reduced in areas located near to these waste stores, which further perpetuates the devaluation of disadvantaged areas.

And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down. ‘” Luke 13:8-9 Composting is very important for two reasons, firstly you can make your soil much more fertile and increase your yield of vegetables or fruit. Secondly you reduce your food waste going to landfill. When food waste ends up in landfill it creates methane which is a very strong greenhouse gas, actually  more than 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.  Here are some hints from “Farming God’s way “ on how to make compost Compost is an exceptional alternative to fertiliser, which builds up not only the organic nutrient levels in the soil, but helps to restore the natural biotic balances which occur in the soil profile. What is Compost? Compost is simply decomposed organic matter that has been broken down by micro-organisms, especially bacteria and fungi. Start collecting compost materials at the time when there is plenty of green material around to allow enough time for the compost to fully mature before the next spring planting season.  Compost is made of four main ingredients – nitrogen, green, woody and a dry component. a) Nitrogen is the essential fuel of the compost pile and gets the bacteria going. The most readily available Nitrogen component is manure and should make up 10% of the pile .Use the freshest manure that you can find. If there is no manure in your area then you can use dark organic materials from the forest and if you don’t have this don’t worry – it will just take longer to decompose  b) Green Component  Green leaves are a great source of sugars, which are necessary for good quality compost. The green component should make up about half  of your pile .Collect approximately  green materials made up of leaves, grass clippings, weeds, old vegetables or shrubs.  c) Woody Component The woody material really helps to encourage the fungal growth in the pile because it breaks down so slowly and keeps the pile aerated. Collect approximately  woody materials to make up 10% of the pile using maize cobs, stalks, branches, cardboard, wood chips or shavings.  d) Dry Component  The dry material adds bulk and carbon to the compost and should make up one third  of the compost volume. Collect dry materials, grass, leaves or old weeds.  When building the pile, it is very important that the right ratios are maintained.  The simplest way to achieve this is to build using alternate layers of the 4 main ingredients. As you build each layer dunk the ingredients into a container of water before you place them, so that you wet the layers thoroughly. A good wetting at the outset will mean you will probably only need to add water maybe once or twice during the turning process.  Start with woody, then dry, then f green, then well wetted, fresh manure on top of that. Turning the Pile: Within 3 days, the compost pile will have heated up and needs to be turned. The turning process maintains the correct temperature, mixes all the ingredients, brings material from the outside to the inside, aerates the pile with oxygen and allows for moisture levels to be checked and adjusted if necessary. If the pile is not turned it will become anaerobic, have a bad smell and result in poor quality compost . Temperature:  The compost gets hot very quickly because of all the bacterial activity. The ideal temperature of the compost should be maintained between 55C to 68C to kill all seeds and unwanted pathogens.  A really simple turning cycle is to turn the compost pile every 3 days for the first 3 turns and every 10 days for the next 2 or 3 turns.  This cycle will continue until all the nitrogen in the pile has been utilized. If you followed the guideline ingredients, then the compost will get hot enough for adequate decomposition and also will be maturing and cooling after 6-8 weeks. Moisture Content: It is important to test to see whether the pile is moist enough, as a lot of moisture is lost as steam and needs to be replaced. Try to keep the moisture content of your compost at 50%.  You can test this when turning the pile, by squeezing it in your hand. If moisture drips out, it is too wet. If no water drips out, but on opening your hand the material does not hold its shape, then it is too dry, so add water.. Leave a gentle slope on the top of the pile and place thatch grass or grain bags on top to keep excess rain water off the pile, which can cool the pile too much   Curing: After approximately 2 months the turning process is complete, but leave it to cure thoroughly for another 4 months before you use it. You don’t need to turn it anymore, but store it in the shade or cover it with a breathable material or thatch grass to prevent it from drying out.  Do not cover the compost with plastic as this deprives the living organisms of oxygen. When complete, your compost should be a dark brown colour, smell sweet and rich, have a crumbly texture and you should be able to see thick fungal strands  Utilizing the Compost : Compost is the input that we should see on every farm field as we teach farmers faithfulness with what God, in His all sufficiency, has put in our hand.  Compost can be utilized as a surface application or in planting stations/furrows. The yield potential with good quality compost is very high and the cost of producing it is only a few days labour to collect the materials, build and do the turns of the pile. The opportunity to excel as a vegetable grower by cutting input costs

You shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in. Isaiah 58:12 How would you feel if you had to live next door to dumpsites stinking in the hot sun, attracting rodents and flies.  Waste management is very complicated and faces lots of challenges. The challenge today is for us to do what we can to understand the challenges communities face regarding waste management Waste management is often “a tale of two cities” – let me share some of the challenges in  Cape Town. Waste pick up : in suburban areas waste is picked up on a weekly basis. If it is late then many people phone or email the City  and the problem is sorted out. In informal settlements the waste pick up is often outsourced to smaller businesses, this means if it is not picked up it is difficult for people to know who to contact. Bins – in suburban areas, each family has a wheelie bin. In many informal areas they either only get bags or the wheelie bin is used by several families which means it fills up too soon.  Bin bags, if placed in front of your home attract rodents and flies, so people will leave them at a distance from their home. Once the rubbish is not picked up on time, the bags are torn open by dogs and rubbish spreads in the street. Crime and violence – in some communities the city workers are not safe as they are at risk of being mugged for cell phones etc. There are also challenges when local communities have been promised jobs in the waste sector and they don’t receive them. Wheelie bins are also stolen from time to time. Builders dump rubble in the community – so that they don’t have to pay to drop it far away – once the rubble is dropped, it forms a dump site and everyone starts dumping on top of it. Neighbours are scared to report this as they might be attacked. Skips – these are sometimes used, but the sides are too high for children to reach over and so bags just get left next to the skip. What other challenges do you see or know about? https://groundup.org.za/article/covid-village-settlement-to-finally-get-services-four-years-after-shack-dwellers-occupied-the-land/

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) When faced by the enormous challenge of pollution in our oceans, we can feel overwhelmed. But we believe in a God of hope, that God is with us. And we also know that we can and must take action Today we want to share a very inspiring story about the Ocean Clean Up , there are solutions, let us support them. Community clean ups, reducing the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean are super important. But we also need these projects that can go out into the oceans and get plastic out of the oceans as well Let’s share the good news!

 Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children Mark 7:27 So our community challenge this Saturday is to consider your school’s tuckshop. Firstly are they re-cycling? School tuck shops create a huge among of plastic waste and the first step is to make sure they are offering clear recycling bins. The second is to make sure that those bins are being emptied and the sorted trash is actually going to the recycling depot. This could potentially create a stream of income for the school. You will need to do some research as many of the snacks such as crisps are in metalised plastic film which is generally not recyclable with home recycling Secondly – what can be refused? School tuck shops don’t need  straws!, They are the first thing that can go or at the very least only have them for those who request, don’t just hand them out. With pressure from the school, the tuck shop can be told to stop using Styrofoam as this is a health and environment risk. They also can run without plastic bags as all the kids have backpacks they can put snacks into Thirdly what can be reduced: Certain products can be swopped out – e.g lollypops(suckers) with paper sticks rather than plastic. Fourthly offer other options: The school can put pressure on the tuck shop to source some more reasonably prices plastic free items which are more healthy such as fruit, home made snacks etc How can you push for change? Look at the structure of the school – is there a governing board – council – find a supportive member to push for a sustainable tuckshop https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/what-do-crisp-packets