Less is More St. John’s Lutheran in Cedar Falls has cut their garbage removal fees in half by recycling! On top of cutting their congregation’s carbon footprint by 14 tons, the congregation will be saving almost $600 a year in garbage removal fees! How did they do it?  “It has truly been a congregational effort!” writes Carolyn Martin, staff administrator. They sold reusable travel mugs to their congregants with St. John’s name and contact information on them to raise the funds to purchase the recycling bins.* Congregants drink their coffee from their new mugs on Sundays and use them throughout the week as a quiet witness to St. John’s efforts to go green. The church administrative assistant researched and ordered the recycling stations and negotiated the contract with the disposal company. The Cool Congregations team kept the “green” concept and the savings it can produce in the forefront of the congregation’s minds. The preschool staff is very intentional in recycling the milk jugs, juice containers, cracker boxes, etc. from the preschool snacks. The custodians monitor the dumpster levels, break down boxes, collect the plastic and assist the recycling volunteers on pick up day. The recycling volunteers take the plastic bags of recycling to the recycling station. Members of St. John’s Cool Congregations Team include (left to right): Carolyn Martin, Linda Holm, Lauri Young, Jen Christiason, Kate Brennan-Hall. Congratulations to St. John’s! For more information Carolyn Martin can be reached at carolyn@stjohncf.org. *Bins are $50 each from Clearstream at www.cleartainers.com.