TBT Blog

Did You Know…

Our world faces a growing litter crisis, and the numbers are staggering:

• Cigarette butts are the most littered item. 5 trillion cigarette butts are littered around the world, and 9.7 billion cigarette butts are littered along US roadways and waterways annually.
• Plastic can take hundreds of years to decompose and release harmful toxins into the soil.
• About 70% of litter is food wrappers and packaging.
• There are over 23 billion pieces of litter alongside US roadways.
• Nine billion tons of litter end up in the oceans annually.
• Aluminum cans take 80-200 years to decompose, plastic water bottles around 450 years, and glass bottles a million years.
• Animals can mistake litter for food, leading to choking, starvation, or blocked airways.

These facts remind us of the urgency of our work.

Our Mission

At Temple B’nai Torah, the Green Team’s mission is to fulfill the Jewish imperative of tikkun olam—repairing the world—by advancing environmental stewardship, sustainability, and awareness within our synagogue community, Bellevue, and the broader world.

This year, our theme is “small steps”— the little things each of us can do in our own spheres to make a difference. Our guiding text is:

לֹא עָלֶֽיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמוֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לְהִבָּטֵל מִמֶּֽנָּה

It is not your duty to complete the work, but neither are you free to neglect it. (Pirkei Avot 2:16).

From Values to Action

Our work is more than just cleaning up trash. It is about reclaiming our connection as Jews to the natural world, to one another, and to our shared responsibility for protecting the planet. Together, we partner with God and each other in the sacred task of repairing the world.

So, what does this look like in action? Two programs—our Adopt-A-Street commitment and our Reverse Tashlich event—embody this year’s “small steps.”

Adopt-a-Street

In July 2024, the City of Bellevue selected Temple B’nai Torah to pilot its Adopt-A-Street program as part of the Keep Bellevue Beautiful campaign. We committed to cleaning a 1.5-mile corridor surrounding our temple quarterly for two years.

Over the past year, we’ve hosted four clean-up events. Each time, participants collected a large amount of trash. At the close of each event, we carefully sorted the materials—recycling what we could and sending plastics to Ridwell, an organization that repurposes items to keep them out of landfills.

This ongoing commitment is one way we turn intention into measurable action.

Reverse Tashlich

Another powerful expression of our values took place during the 2024 High Holy Day season, when Rabbi Molly and the Social Action Committee led TBT’s first Reverse Tashlich event in partnership with Repair the Sea, an international Jewish organization dedicated to protecting waterways and safeguarding the life they sustain.

Tashlich is the Jewish tradition, observed between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, in which we symbolically cast our sins into a body of water as a sign of repentance and renewal. Reverse Tashlich transforms this ritual into direct action: instead of tossing our sins into the water, we remove the “sins” of human impact—plastics and debris that threaten the ecosystems on which life depends.

This year, we invite you to join us again on September 28 as we take part in this mitzvah and spiritual responsibility.

What’s Ahead

As we begin our second year, we are building momentum with multiple clean-up opportunities—many in partnership with other TBT groups:

• Friday, August 22 (recently occurred) – Litter Walk prior to Get S’more Shabbat, co-sponsored with the Kehillah Social Committee
• Sunday, September 28, 3:00pm – Reverse Tashlich (register here).
• Saturday, November 1, 9:45am – Litter Walk co-sponsored with BTY & TBT Middle Schoolers.
• Winter 2025 – Seasonal Litter Walk (details coming soon!).
• Sunday, April 12, 10:30am – Litter Walk and guest speaker, co-sponsored with TBT Sisterhood as part of the WRJ Day of Action.

Check out the newsletter for details on these events! For any questions or if you are interested in joining any of these events, please contact the Social Action Committee (socialaction@templebnaitorah.org)

We hope that you can join us!