Are you looking to make your picnic or barbeque a little eco-friendlier? Consider these thoughts around “green” products.
1) Watch out for “green-washing” which is making not-so-eco-friendly products look more sustainable than they in fact are. Look out for nebulous, less quantifiable words like eco-friendly, earth friendly, oxo-degradable, or biodegradable. Watch out for packaging and bags that are green in color. Many people associate the color green with being eco-friendly. Be cautious when the focus is on recyclable packaging; it is potentially to distract from the non-recyclable items themselves.
2) Understand the certifications:
BAD: ATSM 6954: US Standard, made with oil (EPI), will biodegrade, will leave microplastics
LESS BAD: ATSM 6400: US Standard, could be made with oil (PBAT), industrial compostable, no microplastics
LESS BAD: EN13432 (Seedling): European Standard, could be made with oil (PBAT), industrial compostable, no microplastics
BETTER: “OK compost HOME” which is the basis for several standards (Australia: AS 5810, France: NF T 51800, Europe: EN 17427), likely not made with oil (PBAT), home compostable, no microplastics
Look for at least the “OK compost HOME” certification but read the description for wording such as “no plastic, no fossil fuels, 100% vegetable product.” If the product claims it is Earth-friendly (obscure term), 100% biodegradable (degrades to microplastics) and meets ATSM 6954 (worst certification), it is not your best choice for the environment.
3) Know how the products are packaged. Many manufactures use plastic and excess packaging. Look for 100% plastic free packaging.
4) Figure out where they are manufactured. The burning of fossil fuels for shipping and the working conditions under which they are produced may offset the benefit of the items.
Some category specific thoughts.
Flatware and Plates
Best - Use reusable “real” items
Good – Bio-based, compostable products – palm leaf, bamboo, wood – search Amazon: bamboo palm leaf wood plates and utensils
OK - “OK compost Home” plastic utensils – search Amazon: plant based compostable plates and utensils
Another option - Forego the flatware and plates. Serve up finger foods like sandwiches, nuts, and fruit.
Beverages
Cups and drinkware
Best - ask your guests to bring their own reusable drinkware - BYOC (bring your own cup)
Good – “OK compost Home” plant based plastic cups – search Amazon: plant based plastic cups
OK – Recyclable aluminum – search Amazon: recyclable aluminum cups
Another option: If you must use plastic, use #6 rigid polystyrene cups. Solo cup takes back and recycles all brands of #6 PS.
Straws
Best – Skip them all together
Good – Bamboo, silicone, glass, or metal reusable – search Amazon: reusable straws
OK – Compostable bamboo or paper – search Amazon: compostable straws
Drinks
Best – Bulk, such as kegs, large beverage coolers, and multi-serving containers with reusable drinkware
Good – Aluminum cans
OK – Glass bottles
Avoid juice boxes and pouches as much as possible; use #1 PET plastic instead (like water bottles.)
Food – this is very broad with a lot to consider. Let’s focus on some useful resource recovery tips.
Snacks – pre-packaged, individual servings are incredibly wasteful as the packaging is not recyclable.
Best - buy in bulk and use a reusable serving utensil to distribute
Good - make individual servings ahead of time and use paper snack & sandwich bags
OK – use Ziploc bags; they are recyclable as plastic film if they are not coated in sauces and icing
Avoid cling wrap which is not recyclable or reusable.
Wraps & Covers – there are so many options it is hard to do “best-good-ok” ranking. So here are a few options.
Unbleached and Uncoated Parchment Paper
Bee’s Wrap - Reusable, biodegradable, and compostable
Aluminum Foil
Silicon bags and covers
Mesh nets and covers
Search Amazon - ecofriendly food covering
Avoid cling wrap which is not recyclable or reusable. Also, if any of the above are coated in sauces, grease, icing, etc., they are not candidates for resource recovery but maybe compostable.
Odds & Ends
Table covers
Best – Cloth or fabric
Good – Compostable plastic or paper (a roll of brown Kraft paper is inexpensive)
OK – Low density polyethylene plastic covers
Avoid multi-material products like plastic lined paper - search Amazon: compostable table covers
Napkins & towels
Best – Cloth or fabric
Good – Bamboo or sugarcane
OK – Paper
Avoid colored or dyed paper napkins - search Amazon: compostable towels; compostable napkins
Use reusable bags for shopping, carrying items to the event, and brining leftovers home.
With a few conscious choices, you can significantly reduce the amount of material you add to the already overfull landfills. If you have any questions, please contact us at ed@recoveringresources.com
The Resource Recovery Project is pioneering true, single-stream, curbside resource recovery. We challenge the idea that recycling is not easy, cheap, efficient, or effective - it can be! We collect most resources (except liquids, organics & food, and medical waste) as long as they are clean & dry. We find the highest and best use for collected resources - reuse, repurpose, rehome, and recycle.
If you are in the greater Clifton, VA area, we invite you to make the most of your recycling efforts and join The Resource Recovery Project (RRP). Find us on Facebook: Resource Recovery Project
Cover photo by Lee Myungseong on Unsplash