Cedar Grove's Garden Spot: The Disposable Party: What’s an Environmentally Conscious Consumer to do?

Image by paparutzi via Flickr

Seriously, if you think about the offerings at a traditional party store and what consumers typically purchase for a party, especially a child’s party, the environmental impact is pretty insane. Let’s see…

Balloons? Check.
Paper invitations? Check.
Disposable plates, bowls, cups, napkins, cutlery? Check.
Disposable table cover? Check.
Disposable centerpiece? Check.
Wrapping paper? Check.
Ribbon? Check.

The amount of trash created at even the simplest party can be daunting and downright depressing to an environmentally conscious consumer. As consumers try to go green in every aspect of their lives, one of the toughest things can be giving up the convenience of disposable food containers, even if it’s just for a child’s birthday party once a year or a company picnic.

And the landscape of compostable products on the market can be dizzying and leave consumers feeling confused, overspent and frustrated when they find out their compostable plates aren’t actually compostable commercially.

But there are easy and inexpensive things you can do to reduce the cost and the waste from your parties and take it easy on the environment.
A few ideas that everyone can consider when hosting their next event are:

Purchase inexpensive, reusable plates, bowls, cups and cutlery. Ikea has a fun set that works great for kids’ parties as the multi-colored items work well with any theme. For an adult party or for older children, use what you have! Clean up is easy with a dishwasher or helping hands at the sink!
Stop by the local thrift store and pick up some funky, fun ceramic or BPA-free plastic tableware to use for your party. If you don’t have space to store them after the party, consider donating them to a local charity or selling them at a garage sale.

Remember that napkins are compostable! Salvage them from the trash bag and toss them in the yard waste bin or compost pile.
If you must use disposables due to the number of people being served, the logistics or kitchen amenities, consider purchasing fully compostable packaging AND making sure you have food waste collection bins set up so the packaging is captured and composted.
Managing food waste and ensuring it gets sorted properly can be a great job for an older child or a guest who offers to help.
Even though Cedar Grove is known for their compost, we actually have a line of fully compostable packaging for your entertaining needs at home or the office.
If you live in the Seattle area, you can place an order and pick it up at the warehouse in Seattle or order online! It’s important to know that just because a product indicates it is compostable, doesn’t mean it is compostable in the commercial compost facility in your area. For those of you in the Seattle or Portland areas, you can view the approved list of compostable packaging so that you are sure that the products will actually be composted and not diverted to a landfill after collection from your curbside.