British Mosques Go Green in Ramadan

This Ramadan, mosques across Britain banned the use of plastics during the holy month to promote a more environmentally friendly month of fasting. “It was estimated that our mosque distributes an average of 800 to 1,000 bottles every evening in Ramadan, which generates a shocking amount of plastic waste,” informed a spokesperson of Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham which decided to announce a plastic ban for this year’s Ramadan.It is estimated that the UK uses 13 billion plastic bottles a year, 7.7 billion of which are water bottles. As a result, many British mosques have implemented the eco-friendly iftar campaign this year, where Muslims break their fast, by distributing reusable cutlery and water bottles. With this in mind, Green Lane Mosque decided not to issue plastic water bottles to their congregation. Instead, it decided to purchase reusable bottles that could be sold at a subsidized cost to the congregation and also installed water fountains to act as filling stations.The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) encouraged more mosques and Muslims to join the campaign.