Scot drinkers storing empty beer cans to build church from recycled materials
25 Sep 2008, 1735 Hrs

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London, September 25 Local alcoholics in Glasgow are storing and donating empty beer cans to help build a church entirely from recycled materials.

People started working on the ambitious plan after being advised to do so by the Minister of Colston Milton, the Rev Christopher Rowe.

Apart from empty beer cans, the church is also raising money and collecting more materials for the environmentally friendly building.

The Scottish Climate Challenge Fund has already funded 42,809 pounds for a study of how the "economically and ecologically sustainable" kirk can be built and maintained.

The need for a new building has arisen because the old church has been sold off.

The hall where the Church of Scotland congregation currently worships has an "astronomical" heating bill.

"There are loads of things which could be used for this project, old drinks cans, earth, wood, old car tyres, rubble from demolished buildings, car windscreens, the list goes on and on," the Telegraph quoted Rowe as saying.

"A wonderful group of men and women who drink in the woods got inspired by the idea when I was telling them about it, so they started bringing their empty beer cans to the manse to use in the new building."

"In a conventional building project all the money goes straight into the pocket of big construction companies. I want the money we raise to go to build, not just a building, but the local community.

"By using simple construction methods we hope that local people will actually build the building themselves. It will be built by them, and owned by them, and used by them.

"It would be a church built by the community, for the community. It would be fully sustainable, and designed in such a way to be ecologically sound," he added.

Rowe further said that he felt that the church could benefit from being in one of the highest points of Glasgow, three miles north of the city centre.

"Milton has fantastic potential, there is plenty of green space and wind power and we could tap into these natural resources. I'm very excited about what we could achieve here," he said. (ANI)