As summer makes its entrance, many folks have turned to outdoor dining, picnics, and BBQs. Celebrate your sunny holidays sustainably by limiting waste and hosting eco-friendly events.
Here are a few tips for executing a zero waste BBQ party!
Notify your guests beforehand
When inviting your guests, provide clear guidelines for your zero-waste event. This allows your guests to plan accordingly and ensures the least amount of waste possible.
Potluck Style BYO
Bring Your Own (food, drinks, reusable containers for leftovers, etc.). Invite your guests to contribute to the party by supplying drinks for themselves or by bringing their own take home containers.
Provide Recycling and Compost
Using proper signage will help your guests sort their disposables into the least wasteful containers. Not only will this reduce waste following your BBQ, it may also inspire your guests to start a recycling and compost program of their own.
Check the Fridge
Dig deep into your freezer! Many households have extra condiments, frozen meat, warehouse sized packs of rice, and more laying around the kitchen. When hosting a BBQ, use out those extra items first before buying or using new ones. Switch things up and host a veggie-based BBQ for a meat free and more sustainable option!
Ditch the single use & Opt for multi-use:
Use compostable or reusable dishware in place of plastic cups and single use plastic utensils. Also, opt for cloth napkins over disposable ones. When they get dirty from all of that delicious BBQ sauce, have your guests place them in a bin so that you can wash them later!
Sources:
https://ecolunchboxes.com/blogs/news/how-to-throw-a-zero-waste-bbq