Green Weddings: Reducing Waste, Recycling and Composting
Happy Earth Day!
Working on promoting sustainable, eco-friendly, and even zero-waste weddings & events is one of my goals. In writing these posts I know that as an engaged couple, you want your wedding to be unique, photo worthy, beautiful, the list goes on. Eco-friendly is usually something that goes out the window when planning a dream wedding for many reasons - budget, options available, or simply not thinking about it - even for those who do their part in recycling, composting, and walks for climate change. I just want to bring attention to things to consider and think about so that your wedding can be a little more eco-friendly and a little less wasteful.
Here are some tips and considerations for reducing your wedding waste and what you should know about recycling and composting.
Compostable vs. Biodegradable: Unlike products labeled “biodegradable,” compostable products degrade within several months in commercial compost facilities without producing toxic residues. Biodegradable items could take anywhere from 1 to 500 years to disintegrate, and can leave traces/residue. All compostables are biodegradable, but all biodegradables are not compostable. That being said, most compostable items NEED the specific conditions of commercial composting in order to degrade quickly. Compostable products, when disposed of correctly, are better for the environment.
Venue & Caterer: Does your venue have both recycling and composting bins? Does your caterer have any green policies in place? Some venues and caterers make this a part of their regular practice and others do not. Three Rivers Park District, for example, has a zero-waste policy for events and requires the use of compostable or washable dinnerware. Some venues and caterers, such as Paikka, may suggest and even incentivize green policies. Others do not even offer recycling OR composting bins and do not have their staff trained for separating any trash. It is an important question to ask and think about when booking a venue and caterer, and the more it is asked, the more it becomes a consideration.
Compostable plates come in all types! From basic to beautiful bamboo!
Excess Food: A few caterers, such as Chowgirls, do relay leftover food for donations to shelters or food banks - which is a fantastic option to have. For some it goes into compost, but often food is just discarded in the trash. If your caterer is unable to donate, ask if you can utilize all the takeout containers you’ve collected over 2020 to pack up remaining food! Many items can be frozen and enjoyed later, some items may lend themselves to guest “doggy bags”. You may be able to enjoy a post-wedding lunch feast with some friends or family with your leftovers - I know I did!
At-Home Events: Does your city offer composting? When you are having an at home celebration or utilizing a family home, find out if the city offers composting pickups, especially if this isn’t used as part of the garbage collection service for the home. If composting/organic waste pickups cannot be added as a trash collection service, it would be better to instead rent dinnerware & silverware vs buy compostable or disposable dinnerware and throw it away with the garbage. If you can compost, make sure you have signs to indicate recycling vs. compost, and relay the information also to any staffing you have present at your event to help keep bins separated.
Water: In the US we use an average of 50 billion plastic water bottles a year; and though recycling is widely accessible, 90% of plastic water bottles are not recycled after use, meaning that billions of plastic bottles are entering our landfills and oceans every year. Water bottles are typically a major issue at events where people are taking multiple water bottles, as they also forget which is theirs! As you may know, even recyclable plastic gets recycled only 2-3 times. It contributes to waste eventually. Having water stations with glassware, or having pitchers and glasses on tables, is an easy solution.
COVID Safety: In these COVID times, we have to prioritize safety, but we can still be conscious. Having reusable fabric masks for guests to take home, utilizing a hand sanitizer station with a large refillable bottle vs. 100 mini bottles, allowing for a server to serve items vs. having individually wrapped meals, using individual boxes made from recyclable paper or aluminum vs plastic for take home desserts - these are all ways to use less plastic and create less waste.
A completely recycled birthday backdrop, using “junk” found at home!
Flavored water stations - so much nicer than water bottles!!
Decor: Many decor items are sadly meant for one-time or very limited use. Plastic tablecloths and other items typically get disposed of. Inexpensive, low quality linens might not last beyond 2-3 washings. Rent items, or borrow & buy used items, where you can. Recycle and DIY to make something new out of something old! Balloons, though touted as biodegradable, take many years to decompose and can cause issues for many animals; paper lanterns and streamers are a much more eco-friendly alternative. For florals, consider hiring a florist that uses sustainable practices - Ediflorial is one example!
Do you have a suggestion for reducing waste? Comment below!