Great Idea. I also use cloth napkins they work a lot better than paper. I am in the promotional product business and have had cloth bags printed with a list of how to be greener and my company name. I am handing them out to all my clients and friends and who ever I run into. I also have printed up sheets of more suggestions on how they can help prevent more global warming and place it in the bag that I give them. It is good advertising for me and encourages them to make changes.

good job, every bit helps

I had my sisters 30th birthday party at my house a few weeks ago, and I rent the dishes. I had one bag of trash for about forty people. We even took big platters to the sushi place and had them fill those instead of wasting another container. We had a small keg and wine, so I rent extra glassware as well. It is the first time that I really felt good about hosting a party and not stessing over the space in my garbage can. We returned the plates the next day, perfect!

You can reduce waste even more if you provide cloth napkins. I buy them at garage sales, etc, and always have lots on hand for guests. I just toss them in with the wash, hang to dry, and fold. Who cares if they are a bit wrinkled? Not me. I went from paper to cloth napkins about 40 years ago and believe I've saved more than on tree in the process.

Wiping the plates clean with a damp dishrag would be my choice, the dishrag then goes in the laundry. Any large food scraps go to compost or wildlife.

What a great idea! I will remember to make it a point to use this idea the next time we entertain. Plus pass it on to all my friends. Thanks so much, from me and our planet.

Debi & Steve
What an excellent idea! I gave my husband a birthday party in August & wish I had thought of that- I hated buying all those plastic plates & utensils- what a waste. I have started saving glass containers for leftovers too.
Thanks for the tip!!

Hi,
Wow, what a great idea! I always hate disposable items. It's such a matter of convenience to use them. So many of us use disposables when we eat birthday cakes, cause it's messier to wash off the cream & we don't have a dishwasher. Do y'all have any suggestions for that?

Every Sunday at church, we have a lunch gathering after service. However, we also use a lot of disposables. I'm not sure asking everyone to bring their own plates, cups, & utensils will work, because we are mostly students who live in the dorms & eat in the dining halls, so they might not have any washing liquid. However, I live in an apt so I plan to bring my own dish, utensils & reusable water bottle every Sunday now. Do y'all have any suggestions for a lighter kind of dish? My dish is ceramic so it's kinda heavy.

I like the party suggestion of a CFL for guests. Also include a card with info on local household hazardous waste collection events for bulbs, batteries and the like.

Another nice gift for guests would be a tiny packet of local native wildflower seeds preserved from your home's garden landscape.

Consider making your own recycled paper invitations as a fun craft project, especially for kids. There are some good recipes for paper making on the web and you can add things like fibers and seeds for that crafty look!

Serving locally sourced food such as from my parents' organic farm is also something I enjoy and others seem to appreciate.

Definitely yes on avoiding disposable tableware! (Food contaminated paper items aren't really recyclable anyway, and I have collected about 12 nice old china plates from the thrift store that I save to use for less formal occasions like these.) Even in a desert climate, washing dishes has to be a better option than disposable paper trucked in from some tree-growing climate. Find a sink aerator/sprayer with shutoff switch to save water use. Consider reusing the graywater from the dishwashing, to water some plants in your landscape!

I might buy corn husks, as are used for making tamales, and serve the snacks on those, composting them after.

Other possibilities: rice wrappers, the new biodegradable plates made from corn

Have the kids hand wash their own dishes. Teaches responsibility.

Hello Ember,

A possible consideration may be to visit www.Eco-cycle.org - they provide Zero Waste Event Kits. It may be possible to acquire a discounted rate as a school and offer the prospect of advertising their product to the families of the school in return...
Spread the word, right? Besides great opportunity to emphasize and explain Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle to the Kids!

I learned of them at a local event in Denver, Colorado. I hope this helps.

Take Care and good luck in your efforts!

I have found that one can cut dishwasher use by about 50% simply by purchasing SMALLER plates and other tableware at the thrift store. Kids in particular do not need big plates. Small glasses make a huge difference in the dishwasher too.

Bagasse Tree-Free Biodegradable Plates are the way to go!!!!!

Think what we do when the power goes out, and the water pump can't run ~ or, imagine when camping, for instance ~ when we have to wash up our mess kits, we wipe out all debris possible with leaves, or biodegradable recycled paper towels, then use minimal water to wash up. At home I use a sponge with a light duty (non-scratch) scrubby side, wet it down, put a bit of the most natural biodegradable soap I can buy on that white side, and after composting the debris and quickly rinsing the rest, I soap it down and very briefly rinse all surfaces, and of course, air dry. Water goes on and off only when needed. It's great for kids to learn how to use the least water possible. And yes, I have a dishwasher, but with only two of us left at home now, I only run it when full, which is about every three or four days.

That is a great idea. We had a neighborhood BBQ this summer and it was bring your own meat and place settings. My husband hates to eat off of paper anyway.

My friend just told me about a dilemma in her preschool class she teaches. Currently she uses paper products to serve snack time. One of the mothers suggested she buy small plastic plates and cups for the kids to reduce the waste. This however would require running the dishwasher everyday. I am unsure what the green solution would be considering we live in the desert and water conservation is very important here. So what is the lesser of the two evils, running the dishwasher or recycling paper products?

Most preschoolers don't need paper or plastic or ceramic. Use a cloth napkin. Have each child bring their own cup and just rinse out with hot water and drain dry.(Unless the child is sick, then wash with small amount of soapy water.) To make the napkin special: have each child decorate with fabric paint on a Friday. By Monday it will be dry and ready to use. This worked well at the preschool my (now) 18- and 20-year olds attended.

Oh, I almost forgot! Send both cups and napkins home on Fridays to be cleaned and returned on Mondays.

Every time I go to a potluck, I make an announcement to encourage people to bring their own place setting, pointing out that it not only saves the environment but saves the organization the cost of providing disposable items.

What a great idea! When my other throws parties I'm always losing my plastic cups and other utensils. Once I think I went through 24 cups in one night.( I'm a little forgetful.)

I'll ask my mom to get on this idea right away. I'll also tell my friends mom's. Really good idea. Thanks a bundle!

I, too, am a desert dweller and water is precious here. I would go with using the "foam" dinnerware which can be recycled. It can be where I live anyway.
Where I work we have meetings and people bring bottled water or cans of soda to drink. I have been removing them from the trash and taking them home to put in my recycling can. Whatever I can do to keep plastic bottles and aluminum cans out of the landfill is a help.

Having been a teacher in the desert Southwest, I understand exactly what you're talking about. How about sliced apples and peanut butter on crackers? Then just wipe the tables clean of crumbs. Or have the kids create their own place mat with recycled construction paper and laminate them, so the kids can use them throughout the semester, and wipe them down themselves with a damp cloth or sponge. Contact paper works great for laminating, with parent help. Watch the "Lorax" and "Ferngully" and make a "green" week where the kids can create their own "green" things, maybe while teaching the letter "g". I remember back in the "old days" of the '50's when I was a kid, we brought a lunch box and re-usable thermos.