This year’s Earth Day Theme is a focus on the
plastics crisis, its impacts, and how we are called to respond and heal what Pope Francis calls “our throwaway culture.”
Over the past 50 years, world plastic production has doubled.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the production of plastic products accounts for a 4-8 percent of
global oil production. A 2023 report from Pacific Environment called for a 75 percent reduction in plastic production by 2050 to avoid a disastrous increase in global temperatures. We must deal with the
plastic crisis if we are to control the climate crisis, to improve the health of our air and oceans, and to protect the earth’s biodiversity and human health.
Let's begin with a prayer.
LEADER: Today, we face a creation longing to both be healed and be praised!
All: We gather today to praise God.
L: Our earth is precious and is in need of gentleness and kindness as we face pollution and climate
change.
All: We pray for all of creation: the sky, land, sea, and all living creatures.
L: We pray that God grants us the wisdom and ability to protect all our brothers and sisters, and all
ecosystems and natural habitats, freeing them from harm and inhumane actions.
All: We will protect the earth from plastic pollution, keeping the earth in God’s loving care.
L: We are created for relationships: with God, with one another, and with the earth.
All: Let us honor those relationships today and every day.
L: We seek to care for our common home, the earth, to heal rather than wound, to treasure rather than
discard.
All: Let us understand that all creation is connected and in need of healing.
L: God of providence, transform us, that we may place the welfare of our common home and your
people before our fleeting desires.
All: Grant us divine wisdom and embolden us to replace systems of destruction and wasteful
consumption with systems of justice and sustainability.
L: May we commit to new ways of honoring God’s creation as a means of sharing Jesus’ transforming
Love.
All: And let us seek God’s grace, justice, and mercy for all.
(Prayer adapted from Season of Creation Morning Prayer, “A Culture of Relationships That Heals Our Throwaway Culture” (World Council of Churches), and Plastic Free July Prayer
(St. Columban Mission Society)
Reflection Questions
- Where have you personally seen the impact of plastics in your community and/or in your life?
- How is the plastic crisis a symptom of our “throwaway culture?”
- How are the impacts of plastic production and pollution a justice issue? How are they a pro-life issue?
- How are we, as Catholics, called to counter the “culture of waste and disposables,” to “promote a culture of solidarity and encounter,” and to heal the plastic crisis? Think back to the actions you jotted down earlier!
- Make a personal and family/community commitment(s):
Some Commitment Ideas
- Watch the Video on Plastics Pollution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euSqO5tW6aY
- Purchasing decisions that reduce plastics:
- Reuse and give plastic packaging a new purpose. If you must buy a plastic bottle or a plastic container, reuse it instead of throwing it away.
- Recycle plastics correctly. Look at the labels: #1 and #2 plastics are almost always recyclable, while #6 plastics aren’t always accepted. Check with your local municipality to see what is locally accepted for recycling.
- Share the Plastic Pollution Treaty Petition with friends, family, and community members.
- Participate as a community (parish, school, religious community, etc.) in Plastic Free July .
- Coffee cups: If your church, school, or organization serves coffee, encourage everyone to start bringing their own non-disposable cups. Have a “mug drive” and encourage everyone to donate one of their extras. Setting out the mugs on the table next to the coffee pot is an excellent way to reduce paper and plastic waste.
- Plan a beach, stream, or park cleanup.
- Think about alternatives to plastic dinnerware (cups, plates, knives, spoons, and forks) and disposable plastic bottles. Find biodegradable or reusable/washable substitutes.
- Join the Catholic Climate Covenant https://catholicclimatecovenant.org
