The Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC) is a mosque and community center, located in Roxbury, serving over 1,500 congregants at its weekly services. Each year the mosque holds a month of programming in observation of Ramadan, which includes educational activities and a nightly community meal. The mosque connected with RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts (RecyclingWorks) for technical assistance for the diversion of organics during the month’s activities initially and then to set up an on-going program.

The ISBCC contracted with Save That Stuff to collect food scraps and compostable paper products from the facility. The mosque staff set up sorting stations during events where volunteers helped attendees separate single stream materials and put food scraps into collection bins. They created signage using images and three languages to indicate proper separation and reduce contamination and organized educational activities for the youth program.

The mosque provides small plastic bags for congregants to use when taking their shoes off for prayer. After Ramadan, volunteers collected and delivered the bags to a local Whole Foods Market location for recycling through the store’s program with Trex®.

During the month of Ramadan, ISBCC diverted 1,100 pounds of food waste and organic materials and collected 1.8 tons of single stream materials for recycling. Following the success of the month-long effort, the mosque plans to extend their program to collect materials for diversion year-round.

RecyclingWorks assists businesses and institutions with reuse, recycling, and food waste prevention, providing free technical assistance to help businesses maximize waste diversion opportunities. To speak to a recycling and food waste expert, call our hotline: (888) 254-5525, or email us at info@recyclingworksma.com.