Waste Free Celebrations
We are all long overdue for some parties and celebrations. So many anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, retirements and other milestones passed us by without being able to properly mark their importance. But now that we’re starting to be able to do some party-planning once again, we wanted to offer some tips for how to do so without creating a whole pile of waste at the end.
Gift Wrapping. Fabric is perfect for gift wrapping. At the thrift shop, scarves are the easiest way to find beautiful fabric with finished edges in various sizes. Then do an Internet search of “furoshiki” for easy and unique ways to use fabric for gift wrapping, no tape required. Newspaper or old maps also work great. Thrift shops often have a large assortment of gift bags too.
Use Reusable Dishes. What’s a party without great food but inevitably this requires dishes. It can be tempting to buy disposable and I often hear the argument, “but plastic is recyclable and paper is either recyclable or compostable so what’s the problem?” The problem is that making those products and also recycling them takes an enormous amount of energy, water and all kinds of other resources. Recycling is the last resort, not the first. Also, very little plastic actually gets recycled because we just make way too much of it and it’s difficult to recycle. Making paper requires huge amounts of water, chemicals and energy. Add the carbon footprint of transporting these items and the environmental cost is excessive.
For large celebrations you can rent dishes, linens and silverware from a number of businesses in Southern Manitoba. Some people collect thrift store dishes for an event and then donate them back afterward. Or borrow dishes from your church or community center. There are so many great alternatives, plus food and drink just taste better from “real” dishes.
Avoid Plastic If you really must choose single-use products, always look for natural materials like glass or paper instead of plastic.
Why? You’ve heard that diamonds are forever, but actually plastic is forever. Every speck of plastic we’ve ever made on this planet is still here in some form. It simply can’t be undone and we continue to make over 60 billion tonnes of it, increasing every year.
Why is paper or glass better? Clean paper can be recycled and soiled paper can be composted. If paper does escape into the environment it doesn’t take long for it to break down. Glass, while not recyclable in our area, is essentially sand and is not considered an environmental contaminant, and of course glass can be reused indefinitely and it’s beautiful to boot. Aluminum cans recycle well and are also a good alternative to plastic for beverages.
Decorations My former German roommate was horrified at what many Canadians would use to bring cheer to an event. Cheap, plastic, junk from the dollar store made her cringe and ever since I’ve looked at what usually passes for decorations around here with a sideways and suspicious glance. A simple internet search of waste-free party decorations yields a host of simple and beautiful alternatives. Mason jars, twine, paper lanterns, fabric banners, wild flower or ditch bouquets…these ideas are as cost effective as they are cute..
I hate to burst your bubble, but balloons are the worst! There’s a saying, “When balloons fly, wild animals die.” Helium balloons travel far and wide, and are often mistaken for food by wildlife or they can get tangled in the strings. Balloons are also adding to our ever-growing toxic mass of garbage. They are single use, come wrapped in plastic, then head straight to the garbage; basically insta-trash which spend one day as decoration and hundreds of years as toxic garbage.
There is finally light at the end of this pandemic tunnel so let’s celebrate by filling a glass, not the landfill.
Written by Connie Heppner Mueller for ACAN