Celebrations and gatherings happen year round and can easily be a big source of waste. From food and drinks to decorations, a lot of wasteful single-use items can sneak into the party. But do you really want to invite them? There are many things you can do to make the event packed with fun and wonderful moments, not waste!
Planning a Low-waste Gathering
First, think of how many guests you’ll have. For invitations, sending them out electronically, whether using text, email, a Google Form, or Evite, saves paper, stamps, and money. If you love handwritten or hand-drawn invitations, you can make one and scan it to send electronically. If you definitely want physical invitations, choose ones that are just paper with no toxic dyes and plastic so that they can easily be recycled or composted.
For the selection of food and drinks, consider the source (homemade, takeout/delivery, or potluck), the occasion, number of guests, and whether it is a seated event or more of a casual setting. If it is more casual, having foods that require few to no utensils would lessen the load for you as a host. It will also be easier for your guests to move around more freely even if they are eating.
If you’re going the homemade route, this online Guest-imator tool helps you craft a menu and the portions for each dish to account for different kinds of eaters and whether you want any leftovers. When shopping for your ingredients, aim to buy only what you need, especially if the items don’t keep well. Try to buy package-free items as much as possible so that you won’t generate food waste and packaging waste. Ecorate’s Refill Shop filter can help you find a zero waste store near you for your groceries and other sustainable products. When purchasing drinks, I like to go for canned or glass bottled drinks because they are better alternatives to plastic.
If you’re getting takeout/delivery, try ordering it through a platform that uses reusable/returnable containers such as Deliver Zero. If that is not viable, choose businesses that use aluminum trays for food instead of plastic containers. Also, make sure you say “no” to single-use utensils and napkins. You don’t need them! And check out NYC’s Skip the Stuff bill if you want to find out more about avoiding this single-use waste.
If you are doing a potluck, encourage your guests to use reusable containers to transport food and drink. They can even bring food in the original cooking vessels! The upside to that is if the food needs to be heated, no transferring is needed. You have to promise you will give it back to them though!
Serving with Reusables
Now that you have the food and drinks, how do you serve them in a sustainable way? You should always use what you have first before investing in additional items. If you have single-use serviceware, use them first because otherwise they are waste (just try to avoid buying more)!
Now that that’s out of the way, using reusables instead of getting a fresh pack of single-use plates and cups is not only good for the environment, but good for your wallet. I’ve asked friends to bring a few dishes over to a party I hosted because I didn’t have enough. I’ve brought cups and plates to another friend’s home so they can avoid buying single-use items for their gathering. Guests may ask “Is there something I can bring?” anyways! If you really want to go down the single-use route, compostable serviceware is an option, but you have to make sure that they are BPI-certified compostable and that you have a place to compost it afterwards (if you’re in NYC, use this drop-off map).
If you don’t have enough yourself, can’t borrow from a guest, and still want to avoid single-use, try renting. I’ve rented cups from Cup Zero for a gathering before and I absolutely loved it and so did my guests! In case there are leftover food and drinks, I like to prepare containers for guests to take things home.
Low-waste Decorations
If you are planning to decorate for your event, first use what you have. Avoid buying single-use items and cheaply made items. If you do want to buy decorations, get things you can reuse again. Another option is to use natural items such as plants or leaves!
Waste Sorting
Through this whole process, communicating your sustainability goals with your guests is key! Make sure you announce where to get things and where to put things after they are used. Your waste station should be in a visible location and have clear signage if possible. Depending on what food and drinks you have and how you serve them, you’ll need to handle up to four waste streams:
- compostables
- metal, glass, plastic, carton
- paper and cardboard
- trash
To learn more about what you can recycle, visit your local sanitation department’s website. The Sanitation Foundation has a great educational game called Follow Your Waste.
If you still have food leftover after your guests leave, eat it for your next meal(s) or bring it to a community fridge. Then make sure you bring any food scraps (and compostable serviceware if you used them) to your local compost drop-off site. Yay, you had a successful low-waste event!
