​Service in Care of Creation

APLC's 'Green Team' works to ​promote sustainable practices at APLC by reducing overall waste, supporting Mercer County recycling, and eliminating the use of single-use plastic items.  Our main objectives are increasing awareness of environmental issues and working together to keep items out of landfills and incinerators.  We are pleased to have been recognized in June 2022 as a Ewing Green Business!  Click here to read more about the recognition and our sustainability efforts, or here to learn about the NJ Synod's Bishop's Challenge for 2024-25, Caring for God's Good Creation.
Current Projects
  • Expanded Terracycle collection: We are collecting a variety of personal and oral care items, snack packaging, #6 plastics packaging - and more. Click here for the full list and drop off your items at the display in the Fellowship Hall.
  • Green landscaping project: We are envisioning new uses for the grassy parts of our APLC property, including native plantings and a pollinator meadow. Contact the office if you have ideas or would like to help!
  • Bag Up APLC!  New Jersey's single-use shopping bag ban went into effect May 4, 2022.  Click here for a list of resources, links, and tips.
  • Green Clean-Up for fellowship events:  our new clean-up station system for fellowship events addresses food waste and limits single-use disposables -- and reinforces proper recycling and trash collection, composting, and the use of Terracycle’s upcycling programs. We encourage all members to review our county’s recycling guidelines and make full use of the recycling bins in the kitchen, the box for Terracycle's accepted items (a full list can be found in the kitchen), and the compost bucket for food waste near the kitchen refrigerators.  We also encourage all members and guests to use the full set of ceramic dishes and cutlery in our kitchens for event to cut down on waste.
What's the big deal about plastic and disposable products? These items end up in incinerators and landfills that pollute air, water, and soil and disproportionately affect those in low-income communities who live near "disposal" sites.  As Christians, we care for our neighbors by limiting our own waste and thus reducing the impact on those most affected.
  • Pollinator Garden:   Our new pollinator garden in front of our property has just been recognized with a National Wildlife Federation Certificate of Achievement as an official NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat (TM) site!  This new garden includes native plants such as monarda (bee balm), purple coneflower (echinachea), asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed), blue-stemmed goldenrod, lavender hyssop (agastache), bearberry, lanceleaf coreopsis, and purple poppy mallow.  Look for this garden's blooms this spring!
  • APLC Recycling Guide:  follow these steps to recycle at APLC (and at home!) -  
  1. Food Waste – APLC now has a compost bin!  Put all food waste/scraps in the bucket labelled “Food Scraps”
  2. Mercer County Recycling Items – Plastic #1 and #2, cans, clean cardboard boxes and paper go in the yellow or green buckets – see full list from Mercer County at right
  3. Terracycle Items - #6 clamshells, snack bags, cereal bags, and more go in the Terracycle box by the microwave – see full list on the Terracycle box
  4. Plastic grocery bags and deflated air pillows can be recycled at the grocery store.  Inflated air pillows or peanuts can be taken to the UPS store for re-use.  Please note that plastic grocery bags cannot go in the green/yellow buckets or in the Terracycle box.
  5. Electronics can be recycled through Mercer County twice per year.  Email the church office for information.
  6. Clothing and home textiles can be recycled through the Hopewell Valley School District with collection boxes at each school.
All other items (such as soiled paper boxes/pizza boxes, #3/4/7 plastic) go in the trash can.  Our goal is to reduce the amount of landfill waste we generate
by REDUCING our use of single-use products and using our ceramic dishes and silverware,
​REUSING items when possible,
and by RECYCLING all items that can be recycled through Mercer County, Terracycle, and other special programs!
The Green Team would like to thank all the members, family, and friends of APLC for their support of these efforts!  Reach out to the church office at [email protected] if you'd like to join the Green Team for future meetings or projects.
2220 Pennington Road, Ewing NJ 08638
​609-882-7759 | [email protected]