Golders Green Synagogue held its first ever disposables-free Kiddush on Shabbat ahead of World Environment Day.

The community dusted off their existing crockery and found two generous sponsors to donate new glass Kiddush cups and safe reusable cups for children.

The move comes as part of the new Board’s holistic environmental strategy to reduce the shul’s carbon footprint which includes becoming plastic-free by 2023 across the site’s nursery, office, synagogue and events.

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The disposables-free Kiddush was the idea of longstanding synagogue member Julian Goodkin, who also sponsored the new items along with fellow congregant Dina Kaufman.

Julian Goodkin said: “I was inspired by David Attenborough’s recent Blue Planet series, especially the episode about how much plastic there is in the ocean and I just thought: how can a shul, of all places, be adding to this?”

Naomi Verber, the new chair of Golders Green Synagogue, said: “Our members have repeatedly expressed their concern about the unnecessary waste caused by an overreliance on disposables. This simple change is not only good for the environment, it also saves the shul money. A little washing up each week is a fraction of the cost of buying huge amounts of disposables. My thanks to Julian and Dina and as a result all our kiddushim will be disposables-free from now on.”