Holy Family Church: Environmental Ministry

“We know the mantra by heart—reduce, reuse, recycle—but 69 percent of garbage in the United States still goes directly to landfills!” About 12 miles southeast of Holy Family sits the largest municipal landfill in the entire country. The Puente Hills Landfill is home to more than 130 million tons of trash.

Landfills help hide garbage, but they do little to solve the problems of accumulating waste. Besides the risk of groundwater contamination, landfills produce gas emissions that are harmful to human health, volatile and potentially explosive, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The only way to stem the tide of trash flowing into landfills is to stop producing as much waste. Simple, at-home steps include shopping with reusable bags, avoiding overpackaged products and taking up composting.

The Holy Family Church’ Environmental Ministry meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Pastoral Center. New members are welcome. Contact Carol Polanskey at (626) 398-4262 or cpolanskey@earthlink.net.

Holy Family Church, 1501 Fremont Ave., South Pasadena, (626) 799-8908 or visit www.holyfamily.org.