By Cole Bedics*
Sometimes it feels bad to splurge on throwing a party. Hats you’d only wear once, party favors in plastic bags, the massive bag of paper plates and plastic cups, along with all the other waste that you will most definitely create.
In no way do I want to shame you, the reader, for having a party; it is much the opposite. Parties, whether birthdays, tailgates, holiday, block, or just a Friday night, are the things that we look forward to the most. Get-togethers with the people you care about the most or even people you don’t know yet are some of the most valuable ways you can build your community and sustain your mental wellbeing.
That said, the way we celebrate often comes with a ton of unnecessary waste that can weigh you down and cost you additional money just as much as it harms the planet.
A tailgate after gameday
It is tempting to throw all responsibility to the wind when celebrating; I’ve done it plenty. But if you make the proper preparations, you can still enjoy hosting parties and also save some money while you are at it.
This is where I must plug the Office of Sustainability ‘s Event Guide. This guide is full of so much valuable information that can reduce your celebrations’ footprint. Most things I will talk about here are written in the guide in more detail.
The guide also has a lot of great information including:
- Scheduling events
- Advertising events
- Organizing conferences
- How to source supplies for your event, and overall,
- How to reduce the waste and emissions of your celebration.
Our Event Guide
Use real dishes. So much of the waste that is produced at a party is made simply by throwing away the things that we eat with. I would bet that plastic cutlery and cups, along with paper plates, dominate your trash bag after a party. To fix this, you could try to use the dishes that you already own, and I am sure your party guests will appreciate the upgrade to eating off of a solid plate with a metal fork more than any plastic. If you are the type of person or organization that hosts large parties regularly, I recommend investing in a large set of reusable plates and utensils. This will keep you from having to pay for new plates and cutlery every time you host, and they can be cleaned simply. Another option is to have your guests bring their own dishes. You could even turn it into an activity where you have your guests share the story behind their dish.
Examples of reuseable dishes and cutlery
Plan your food out. Raise your hand if you have ever hosted a party and ordered way too much food, so now you are eating Domino’s pizza for the next two weeks? I certainly have. When you are hosting, be sure to know how many people you will be feeding. It is okay to overestimate a little, especially if your guests are apt to take food home. Nonetheless, save yourself the expense and waste of having an all–you–can–eat buffet at your party; most of that food will not be eaten. So, save money and resources and reduce food waste!
An invitation or RSVP form is a great way to get a head count
Avoid the landfill with the compost pile. Almost all events will produce some form of waste. Watermelon rinds, pizza crusts, and the dip from the obligatory veggie platter that could get more attention than it does. To effectively compost your event’s waste, you need to have the compost bin clearly labeled. – -No one wants to have to fish beer cans out of a pile of half-eaten food.
Doing all these steps can have a meaningful effect on waste. Our office, for example, hosts the Sustainability Picnic every year where we aim to generate as little waste as possible. We typically serve 300-450 people and usually end up with less than a pound of waste. This is an example of sustainability in action, and personally, I can tell you that this event was incredibly rewarding to participate in.
The food line at the Sustainability Picnic
To minimize our waste, we adhered to the principles in the event guide. We also had a volunteer staff that watched the compost, return, and waste bins to make sure that people were sorting them correctly. This is just one of the considerations that allowed us to recycle, compost, and reuse so effectively.
Sustainability can be a feature of any event
Throwing a party and remaining sustainable are not mutually exclusive. Using the methods above and in our event guide, you can still have fun get–togethers that enrich your life with less of the trash that weighs you and our planet down. Remember that it is always best to plan and prepare ahead of time, so you don’t have to resort to cutting corners close to the date. Because in the end, you will enjoy a thoughtful and purposeful event that much more.
Cole Bedics serves as the Engagement Coordinator of our office.
