Out with Disposables and in with Reusables

You may be planning a summer wedding, hosting a big birthday bash for your parents, or getting ready for a holiday celebration. Regardless of the occasion, an easy way to take green living into all of your events is to incorporate reusable dishes and cups rather than disposables.

An astounding 25 billion polystyrene cups are trashed in the US every year! Styrofoam plates and cups are awful things to have in our environment.  They are made from petroleum by products, making the extraction of their base components totally unsustainable and non-renewable. Plus, they take hundreds of years (about 500) to break down in the landfill, can leech chemicals into the soil and water in the process, and if they’re incinerated, can add toxins to the air as well.

Plastics are no better. Also made from crude oil, these are equally non-biodegradable and non-renewable. In all, plastics make up around 11 percent of municipal landfill waste in the US. Plus, many plastic disposables end up on beaches and in the oceans, which can injure marine animal.

And then there’s paper, which takes up 35 percent of landfill space. Using paper for disposable dishes and cups is equally disturbing. Take trees for disposable products causes deforestation (which has enormous environmental implications) and when these are sent to the landfill, they contribute to climate change—as they decompose in an anaerobic (oxygen-deprived) environment, they generate methane gas, a greenhouse gas that is greater than 20 times more potent as a heat-trapper than carbon dioxide.

There are many ways to green-up your barbecue dish habits, including:

• Durable reusables: It may take a little more effort, but choosing reusable plates, cups, and cutlery for your next function will mean less waste is created and fewer resources are trashed after a single use. So pack some dishes for your next picnic, ask your caterer to only use china and real cutlery, and stock your kitchen with enough utensils for your next dinner party. Your dishwasher can do the clean-up for you, and in time, you’ll save a lot of money with this method as well!

• Biodegradable: Whether you need containers to take food to the party or are looking for more eco-friendly reusable dishes, you can get even more eco-friendly by looking for pieces made from biodegradable materials such as bamboo, corn plastic, and even switchgrass (a North American perennial grass). Many of these can be used multiple (hundreds!) of times, but when you’re done with them, they can be composted.

• Recycled-content: The last best choice, this is the one you use when you can’t do without disposables for your next function but want to be a little more eco-friendly about your choice. Today, there are several brands now creating paper and/or plastic plates and cups made from recycled content.

An easy way to take green living into all of your events is to incorporate reusable dishes and cups rather than disposables. So ditch the traditional disposables and you’ll be on your way to creating a greener event in no time.