These tips will help you with Low-Waste Party Planning! So easy and so worth it!
You want to be the host with the most, but do your entertaining efforts have to result in pounds of waste destined for the landfill? The answer is no – you have tons of options for throwing the ultimate get-together without supplies that will create waste or take up space in your storage.
What should you do to reduce your carbon footprint the next time you throw a soirée? Here’s your guide to low-waste party planning, including supplies you won’t need to waste or store.
Your Dishware
Should you buy disposable dishware or use what you have in your cabinets? After all, washing dishes isn’t just a hassle – it uses water, soap, and electricity.
However, reusable dishware has a smaller carbon footprint overall because it also takes water to produce single-use materials, not to mention the trees cut for traditional paper plates. Plastic cups and plates clog landfills for hundreds of years, contributing to methane emissions. Use what you have to save money and the planet.
Look beyond your plates and forks, though. For example, agave straws stay sturdy in drinks for up to six hours and can go right in your compost bin after use. Linen napkins are your best eco-friendly choice, but look for those made of bamboo if you must go disposable to preserve trees. The recent legalization of industrial hemp means those eco-friendly alternatives will soon be available on store shelves, too.
What can you do if you plan on an inauguration-level crowd and washing your plates simply isn’t feasible? If doing dozens of dish loads will strain your machine’s capacity, look for compostable disposable alternatives. While you can’t recycle many cardboard products when they become greasy or contaminated by food waste, you can prevent them from contributing to excess methane production.
Your Menu
Food waste might not seem like an environmental problem – after all, it eventually decays, right? However, organic matter contributes to methane production when left in landfills. This greenhouse gas is 85 times more dangerous than carbon to overall global warming.
You want your guests to feel sated without leaving yourself eating the same leftovers for a week. Here’s a quick and handy guide to average serving sizes:
- Appetizers: Average four to six bites per person.
- Main dishes: 6–8 ounces of protein.
- Side dishes: 1/2 cup to 1 cup per guest.
- Desserts: 1/8 of a cake or 1-1/2 scoops of ice cream per person.
However carefully you plan your portions, you’re sure to have some leftovers. It’s simply impossible to guess everyone’s appetite on any given day.
Fortunately, even apartment dwellers can compost – you can find countertop models that eliminate odor while producing rich, loamy soil for replenishing your houseplants. Those with more acreage for a backyard garden can save a fortune at the nursery each year. It’s a piece of cake to DIY a bin with old pallets or other repurposed materials.
For the ultimate low-waste party planning, consider vegan or vegetarian main dishes instead of your traditional roast or burgers. Meat production accounts for nearly 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It also uses up arable land that could otherwise feed hungry humans.
Your Decor
It’s easy enough to dash to your local dollar store for inexpensive party decor, but it typically ends up in the landfill or gathering dust in your attic. Please, put your wallet away and inventory what you have already before you buy more.
For example, is that bushel of strawberries more than you need for your homemade sorbet? Why not add them to a fruit bouquet instead of a traditional floral centerpiece that lands in the trash once it wilts? It will double as a pop of color on your table and a snack for guests.
Why not make homemade favors or place settings with flowers from your garden or colorful leaves once the weather changes? Fill leftover cheesecloth from your cooking with dried lavender blooms to make sachets or repurpose some old candle jars with fresh wax and string.
The Extra Touches
Finally, the most important part of any gathering is the memories you make. Please don’t leave experience out of your low-waste party planning.
Break out the board games and dig the cornhole out of the garage. Rent a movie projector from your local library and enjoy an outdoor viewing night. Who says you have to stay at your home? While you have the gang together, why not head to the park for a pickup basketball game that will let you relive your high-school glory days?
Keep ambiance in mind when you’re low-waste party planning. For example, LED fairy lights can create a magical evening look on your patio while using relatively little energy.
Low-Waste Party Planning
Throwing a get-together doesn’t have to mean overflowing your garbage bin and creating a collection and ecological nightmare. You can plan a low-waste party that wows your guests. Use the above tips to make everything from your plates to your decor friendlier to the environment. You’ll enjoy your downtime without all the guilt when you party sustainably.
Cora’s passion is to inspire others to live a happy, healthful, and mindful life through her words on Revivalist – wholeheartedly convincing them that everyday moments are worth celebrating. Cora has spent 5+ years writing for numerous lifestyle sites – hence her sincere love for both life and the beauty of style in all things. Keep up with Cora on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.
Want to stay in the know? I’d really love that! (((HUGS))) |
Like … on Facebook | Follow … on Pinterest | Follow … on Instagram | |
Leave a Reply