Have your cake and eat it: How to party with less environmental impact
With the King’s coronation just a week away many of us are looking forward to street parties. Union jacktastic decorations, tables groaning with goodies and lashings of ginger beer, kid’s games and face paint. Whatever type of celebration you are holding this year they are a fantastic reason to get together with friends and make some happy memories. When planning a gathering you probably aren’t calculating the carbon footprint of your event but there are some simple steps to take that could reduce the environmental impact.
Most importantly - you do not have to be a total fun sponge.
Here are ideas for improving your sustainability with the added bonus that many of them will also save you money:
Food
"In the UK, 70% of UK food waste (post-farm gate) comes from households, equivalent to a value of over £14 billion a year and 20 million tonnes of GHG emissions.” - wrap. So what are some actions we can take? Click the ">" arrow to the left of each action below to reveal some steps you can take:
Low-effort action 🌍
One of the easiest ways to improve the impact of the food at your party is to buy less. Make a plan around the number of guests before shopping. Cut down on the ‘just in case items. Freeze leftovers or ask guests to take any extras home with them. Use apps like Olio to re-distribute unopened packets. You can also check out our community fridge for free food from local super markets
Medium-effort action 🌍🌍
This one will depend on the time of the year but try and stick to foods that are in season in this country. Use websites such as Hubbub to research your options. No or low meat (and dairy) menus will also help make your party more planet friendly. The internet has a cornucopia of delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes or just adjust your usual dishes to contain less meat and cheese.
High-effort action 🌍🌍🌍
Growing your own or sourcing certified organic options from local suppliers. ZERO has a vertical farming project which can grow a range of fruit and veg with higher nutrient content using less space and water. The produce can be grown all year round, uses less space, and also grows quicker than more traditional growing methods.
Opt for reusable or compostable plates, cups & cutlery
When planning an event, finding out the different environmental impacts of recyclable vs biodegradable items, re-using plastic or ceramic plates, and washing by hand or dishwasher is, let's be honest, a real rabbit hole of doom. Especially when the aim is to have fun! A general rule of thumb is that reusable is often better than disposable for the planet and your pocket. If you want to go for biodegradable/compostable options for convenience (and to save the energy cost of heating up extra washing up water), then it is worth doing a little homework on the best way to dispose of them. Biodegradable often won't break down in landfill very quickly. Compostable could mean industrial composting, or it might mean home composting.
Low-effort Action 🌍
Ask everyone to bring a plate and cutlery (and take it home again) it doesn’t all have to match.
Medium-effort Action 🌍🌍
Hire your crockery. Try local church/village halls or an organisation like party-kits. At this stage you will definitely want to check out your local Library of Things - the one at ZERO has some very handy things for parties such as a gazebo, a cool box and a badminton set.
High-effort Action 🌍🌍🌍
Not everything HAS to be high effort! Unless you want to make your own plates...
Ditching the balloons
At this point, I am going to be a fun sponge. That party staple - balloons - they have to go. There's no getting around the fact that balloons are a habit we've all got to kick. If not for the obvious reason that they're single-use plastic destined for landfill or our oceans, then for the marine animals and birds, who can mistake balloons for food or get entangled in balloon strings, leading to injuries or death. Ingesting or getting entangled in balloons can cause suffocation, digestive blockages, and other health issues for wildlife. But the balloon seller told you they’re made of latex which is natural so it’s ok? I’m afraid it isn’t. Even latex takes years to decompose. It’s not all gloom and doom; your party can still look pretty!
Low-effort Action 🌍
Re-use what you have, talk to your friends and family and borrow things. Tablecloths and napkins (fabric not paper) will make a big splash of colour. Any banners, bunting or flags that people are happy to lend will make your party look really festive.
Medium-effort Action 🌍🌍
If you end up wanting to buy decorations, have a think about where you might find some second-hand ones. EBay, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, Freecycle or charity shops are all good bets. Wonderful treasures can be found this way, especially if you set up saved searches to periodically check sites online. Whatever you buy please avoid single-use plastic, go for re-useable every time.
High-effort Action 🌍🌍🌍
For some, this is actually easier than going shopping, but why not try making your own decorations? Bunting is a great way to upcycle and re-purpose old clothing. Kids might want to help with paper chains, pom poms, and pinwheels
Gifts
Now your party looks fabulous and your guests are fed let’s turn our attention to gifts and partybags. Millions of pounds are spent each year on gifts that are, well, ahem, they’re just not wanted. No one wants to seem ungrateful so conversations around this topic are pretty tricky to have. When throwing a kid’s party for a class of thirty people that you don’t really know it can get even harder. Then there are the ubiquitous partybags of plastic tat, how does one get around this tradition. Firstly, remember that you cannot control other people’s actions. Here are some ideas for how to suggest some changes to others.
Low-effort Action 🌍
Explain in the invitation that ‘Toby had a bumper load of toys at Christmas so he would prefer a coin in a card to put towards one item of his choice but would be totally ok with no gift this year’. When it comes to partybags get paper over plastic and fill with something either reusable (a selection of lego bricks from an ebay bundle) or consumable - why not pop into Zero for some zero waste pick and mix.
Medium-effort Action 🌍🌍
The medium action for gifts can look very similar but explain that you are requesting no gifts to reduce the environmental impact of Toby’s birthday, it would be very kind if they wanted to give a coin or two towards a day out instead. For party bags, re-use some bags or upcycle fabric into drawstring bags that can be re-used. Fill with a book or toys from a charity shop or just cake.
High-effort Action 🌍🌍🌍
If you are brave enough, tell people beforehand that you would rather they gave no gifts and you will not be giving party bags. There is joy to be had in throwing a party for the fun and the memories and decoupling it from consumerism.
Event Transport
Whilst you’re talking to your future guests about reducing the associated carbon emissions from throwing a party, it could be a moment to start a conversation about transport. It would be great to encourage walking, cycling, and scooting to parties. It would be great to normalise giving/taking lifts to things. The starting point is to have these conversations. If you're looking for ways to travel into Guildford, why not read 5 ways to get into Guildford without a car.
So there we are, lots of ways to throw a fabulous gathering for people to enjoy and remember. No one is ever going to ask for eco-perfection, at least, they really shouldn’t. Have a think next time you throw a party and see if you can give some of these ideas a go. Then, for the next one, you can try even more of the ideas. Talk to your loved ones about what you are trying to do and before you know it your family will have new traditions that are wonderful and sustainable.
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