Trash-free Outdoor Events

Pro Tip: A great host doesn’t serve trash to their guests.  
 
Whether it’s hosting a backyard birthday soiree, picnic in the park, or providing refreshments to the soccer team, sustainability is the secret to saving time, money and the neighborhood.  

Anyone who has broken a plastic fork and tried to pull shards of broken tines out of their barbequed chicken knows sturdy plates, cups, bowls and utensils provide a more enjoyable experience. From simple hotdogs or hoagies to more substantial burgers, grilled meats or fish, salads and desserts, everything is better served with the right tools. 

Like a scene from “Goofus and Gallant Host a Picnic,” the host with the durable gear can relax and join the corn hole game on a breezy day, while the host with disposables is weighing things down so they don’t blow away. Chasing paper plates and napkins through the park is not the best look, but worse are the side-eye looks that come with not successfully retrieving it all. 

A recent study by NOAA indicates that most of the trash collected on beaches comes from human activities on the land, with more than 50% of trash items tied to smoking, eating and drinking.  On holidays and weekends, public trash and recycling containers have a tendency to be overfilled, and anything not contained within the cans can end up as litter. 

Making a one-time investment in reusable items equates to long-term savings from continually buying and throwing away disposable items. Compared to single-use items, a reusable party pack will potentially pay for itself within a year, especially when factoring in the repetitive shopping time and fuel to replenish disposables. Reuse doesn’t have to be new or fancy when you can repurpose what you have, find items on free-sharing and resale marketplace websites, reuse/thrift stores or garage sales for even more sustainability. If you can’t afford to go all-in on a kit, start with a few items like a set of cloth napkins and durable utensils, and build from there.  

The ideal grab-and-go reusable picnic and party kit contains: 

  • Utensils (fork, knife, spoon) 

  • Cups 

  • Napkins 

  • Plates 

  • Bowls 

  • Tablecloth 

  • Covered tub or tote 

Throw in the other things you might need, like serving utensils, bags to separate trash and recycling, extra containers for guests to take home leftovers, and a jar with soapy water and washcloth.  

The argument for disposables is commonly the cleanup factor; proponents for eating off of trash envision cleanup as chucking everything in the garbage can and calling it done, but in reality is not that simple, especially after a plastic fork pokes a hole in the garbage bag and mystery juice leaks inside your car. 

Separating the trash from recycling and organic scraps already requires a certain level of consciousness; putting reusable service ware into a tub and taking it to the dishwasher compared to taking out a bag of trash is similarly easy. Simply scrape any food scraps into a sealable container for composting, or just toss everything in the tote tub and sort it out at home. Once clean, put it all back in the tote so it is ready to go the next time. 

House party cleanup typically consists of half-full drinks abandoned because they all look the same and no one knows which was theirs. The solution is reusable cups in various colors, lidded cups and bottles that prevent spillage (and spiking). Cleaning up cans and bottles is relatively straightforward, if the container has a CRV value and is empty/dry, it can be recycled, but for most single-use cups, recycling is not the answer. For example, the iconic red Solo cup is made of #6 plastic which is very difficult to recycle through most curbside recycling programs. 

Anyone who has broken straws trying to puncture the titanium-strength foil used for juice boxes and drink pouches (and cleaned up sticky remnants from the backseat) knows the struggle is real. Reusable cups and bottles with lids and built-in straws help solve the problem and prevent spills, while also maintaining optimal temperatures. A trendy name-brand cup might earn a few likes on social media, but bargain cups can be just as effective. 

For keeping the team hydrated, the one-time cup investment means long-term savings. Refilling cups with juice made from concentrate or prepared in larger containers costs up to fifty-percent less per ounce than packaged individual-sized drinks. 

With a few changes, it’s easy and affordable to go from the host with the most trash, to the host with the most time, sanity and savings. 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: 
Zero Waste Palo Alto 

Protect Your Central Coast 

Summer Sustainably in the Bay Area

From the beach to the mountains, hiking, biking, tubing down a river, or gazing up into a starry sky, the ways to experience the splendors of the Bay Area are as plentiful as there are residents to enjoy it. But if each of us left behind a piece of trash – just one cup, plastic bottle or spoon – we would create enough trash to cover the surface of the San Francisco Bay in just one month.

While few would purposely throw litter onto the ground, trash finds its way to pollute our streets and streams, whether from an overfilled trash or recycling can, or an accidental drop along the route. The only way to truly prevent it from happening is to prevent the trash itself; eliminate single-use disposable items by substituting with reusable.

To make the biggest impact with the least amount of effort, take a moment to see what you’re throwing away most often to find the best place to start. Consider a couple of essential items that can serve multiple uses without adding much weight or taking up room in a pack, like a reusable cup, bandana and a spork or spoon.

Think of the humble bandana as the Swiss Army Knife™ of fabric, which can serve as a reusable napkin, a cold compress, emergency tourniquet, bandage, sling, signal flag, and all the other ways one might use disposable tissues and wipes.

One reusable cup can keep things hot or cold, and serve a multitude of beverage needs without embarrassing leakage. A compact reusable bag and a reusable utensil take up negligible space, and always come in handy. Crush-free containers are perfect for packing in snacks, and packing out dirty items (including incidental trash you encounter along the way).

Start the habit of putting the items together for grab-and-go convenience along with your other necessities. No only will it prevent pollution from trash, it will protect wildlife in their habitat, create a cleaner community, and prevent climate impacts from plastic production.

Wildlife doesn’t leave trash lying around, so go ahead Bay Area, act like an animal!