Our world has an urgent rubbish problem. We’re facing mountains of it, and it’s impacting those living in poverty the most. But Jesus said our faith can move mountains.
Join with us praying for the first-ever global agreement on plastic waste, for Tearfund’s local church partners and those in your community who are working to tackle plastic pollution and for your own response to the rubbish problem.
Pray for a global agreement to end plastic pollution
- Lift up all those negotiating on the treaty. Ask that God will give them wisdom and insight, that they would ensure the agreement addresses the human impact of plastic pollution and brings about an end to open dumping and burning.
- Pray that waste pickers’ voices will be represented and heard in the negotiations and that the treaty secures a fair future for those who collect and recycle plastic waste around the world.
- Pray for Tearfund’s policy and advocacy staff who will be present at the treaty negotiations. Pray that they will have opportunities to influence the delegations to ensure those living in poverty are kept at the heart of the negotiations.
Pray for churches and movements tackling the rubbish problem
Brazil
- Pray for churches and movements like Coqueiral Baptist Church and We in Creation in Recife, north-eastern Brazil, who are campaigning for better local waste management.
- Lift up communities like those in Recife where plastic pollution is clogging waterways, causing severe flooding when it rains. Pray for churches in these communities to be able to provide food, shelter and clothing for those who lose their homes when flooding strikes.
Bangladesh
- Pray for better working conditions and pay for environment workers across Bangladesh, who collect much of the country’s plastic waste for recycling but who are often overlooked and underpaid.
- Pray for access to motorised bicycles that would help improve their working conditions and income.
- Pray for movements like the Youth Green Club in Bangladesh. Ask that their campaigning and training programmes would be effective in influencing change in their communities.
Democratic Republic of Congo
- Lift up communities in Kinshasa where extreme levels of plastic pollution cause regular flooding on a devastating scale.
- Pray for encouragement for Tearfund’s partner in Kinshasa that runs a hub to reuse plastic waste to turn it into tiles, bricks, roads and paving slabs.
Pray for your own rubbish
God reminds us in Romans not to ‘conform to the pattern of this world’, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12: 2). Spend time asking the Lord how you might respond to this call when it comes to your own use of plastic.
- Pray that God will help you to live differently from the highly consumerist patterns of the world. Ask that he shows you how to live in a way that has less of an impact on his creation and our global neighbours living in communities most affected by rubbish.
- Ask God to reveal areas of your life where you can reduce your rubbish and use of single-use plastic. Perhaps you could make a list of things that come to mind that you could change about your lifestyle or shopping habits and ask God to help you do things differently.
Pray for your local area and church
Christians across the UK and around the world are responding to this rubbish problem. The church is on the move! Spend time praying for those in your local community and church who are addressing the issue of plastic waste.
- Pray for your church’s response to the rubbish problem. Prayerfully consider how you could help your church on that journey, by asking about running a rubbish event or taking steps to reduce waste as a whole congregation.
- Pray for local schools, small businesses and organisations in your area who are taking action against plastic waste. Ask that God will speak through them and that others would be encouraged by what they’re doing to take action too!
- Lift up churches across the UK who are taking steps to reduce their rubbish. Pray that their congregations would be encouraged to make changes and that their actions will be noticed by local authorities.
Sign up for prayer alerts
Sign up to our prayer SMS alerts to receive regular ways to pray for our work on climate and waste. This is a great way to find out about updates on treaty negotiations and urgent prayer points for those living in poverty affected by plastic pollution.
