As Plastics Waste Grows Globally, Latrobe Worshippers Put Faith in Recycling Efforts
(Trib Live) Plastic waste is a weighty concern for members of Latrobe’s Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Since last May, the church has more than doubled its goal of recycling 1,000 pounds of shopping bags and similarly thin plastic items. More of the bags continue to accumulate weekly in a spare office room and in three large recycling bins, one of which awaits worshippers in the church narthex.
“We have older folks who show up for church, and they’ve got three grocery bags full of recycling that they’re bringing in,” said Jess Felici, one of the congregation’s pastors.
“We recycle a lot here,” said Jenny Obstarczyk of Latrobe, a former church secretary who helps oversee Trinity’s efforts to remove plastics and other materials from the waste stream.
Felici hopes her congregation’s recycling efforts will inspire others to follow suit.
There’s a long way to go, as just 21% of residential items that can be recycled in the U.S. are being reused, according to a 2024 report.
Annual U.S. generation of plastic waste is projected to grow from 73 million metric tons in 2019 to nearly 90 million by 2030 and more than 140 million by 2060, according to Statista.
More than a million tons of plastic debris enters U.S. rivers, creeks and sewer drains annually, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory reported last year.
“Plastic represents over 30% of all litter found in Pennsylvania,” said Shannon Reiter, executive director of Greensburg-based nonprofit Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.
