Thanks for Dinner

Fact

The holiday season is in full-swing, and our waste can really start to add up. In fact, we produce approximately 25 percent more trash from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, equating to be about 25 million extra tons of waste!

So this year, take the time to make a low-waste plan. Reduce your consumption without cutting out the delicious details.

Get Started

• Avoid buying food products or decorations with excess packaging. It’s nearly impossible to avoid plastic or paperboard packaging, but these can easily be recycled at your local grocery store.
• Now you finally have a use for that china at on your top shelf. It may mean more dishes to wash, but disposable dinnerware is usually not recyclable, which can add up pretty quickly. If reusable dishes are not an option, try cool disposable alternatives like Preserve, a tableware made from a thicker resin of plastic that allows for multiple uses.
• Dining is only half the fun. A whole day of cooking can lead to an abundance of food waste leftovers from ingredients. Your countertop may be covered with everything from potato skins and lemon peels to extra cranberry sauce and coffee grounds. Instead of trashing the waste, use it in your compost for nutrient-rich fertilizer.

Become a Pro

• Trying a new recipe? Don’t buy brand-new cookware for one dish. Have a chef supplies swap party with your friends. Exchange everything from cookware and wine glasses to dinner ideas and ingredients.
• Leftovers are often unavoidable at holiday dinner parties. But instead of trashing them, make small take-home servings in reusable containers for your guests.
• If you normally send out invitations for your festivities, send an e-mail invitation instead. It may seem less exciting than a tangible, personal note, but online invites are becoming more popular. In fact, online invitation and social planning Web site Evite sends out 19.5 million invitations monthly.