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Hosting a Zero Waste Event
Hosting a zero waste event is a lot easier than you may think. The checklist below will help you plan your event.
Checklist
Hot or Cold Beverages
* Reusable containers
* Rental containers
* Compostable Containers
* Serve sweetener & cream in restaurant-style containers
* Stir sticks from pasta or wood
Snacks
* Paper napkins
* Plain paper plates
Tableware
* Reusable
* Rental
* Plastic
Food Waste
* Compost (no meat of dairy)
* Mixed organics (including meat or dairy)
If you are within Salem or Keizer in Oregon, mixed organics (food waste plus yard debris) are being collected for commercial composting. Paper items allowed in residential mixed organics are: napkins, paper towels, pizza boxes and waxed cardboard. Commercial mixed organics can include more certified compostable items but you will need to contact your garbage hauler for requirements.
As you might guess, the popularity of "green" items has brought out some “green washed” items (items marketed as greener than they actually are) which makes it harder to verify marketing claims.
Hot or Cold Beverages
Consider reusable containers. If the event is open to the public, cups and mugs must be washed in a commercial dishwasher between uses. Renting dishes includes washing in a commercial dishwasher and they wash them for you. Two places to check out in Salem are: Capital Rental or A To Z Party Rental. You can also ask participants to bring their own containers, and only set out a few paper ones to accommodate those who forget.
Regular "paper" cups actually contain a thin layer of plastic on the inside of the cups. This plastic layer makes the cups non-compostable because no one wants to buy compost for their garden that contains pieces of plastic. They also can't go in the curbside recycling due to food contamination.
Paper containers should be designated "compostable" by the compost facility. Currently the Pacific Region Compost Facility (PRC) near Corvallis is the only Oregon compost facility that can take meat, dairy and food contaminated paper for composting. In the Seattle, Washington area, Cedar Grove Composting has led the way by making available a variety of food service items with their logo and certified as compostable in their facility. At his time, the only certified compostable cups that are widely available are Solo® waxed cold cups. To verify that an item is wax coated, you should be able to remove a bit of wax with your fingernail. If you can't then the material is probably plastic coated (poly coated). To get other certified compostable cups, you will need to go to a large food service supplier or a store that specializes in environmentally friendly products such as EcNow Tech in Corvallis, Eugene's Green Store and more that I will add as I learn of them. (please let me know of any others!)
Don't use individual serving packets of sugar, sweetener or creamer. Similar to paper cups, these packets all contain a thin layer of plastic which makes them not compostable. Use restaurant style containers. Complying with local health department rules is quite easy and usually means that container has a cover (so you dispense the stuff, not put a dirty spoon in it) and that dairy products are kept in a bowl of ice. I have several containers that you can borrow.
Use fettuccine for stirring sticks, or buy wooden stir sticks. Both are compostable and can go into your green yard debris can.
Snacks
If the snack isn't too messy, just put out napkins. Plain white one-ply paper napkins are the best (and the cheapest!). Consider brands like Natural Directions (available at Roth's Markets), which are made of recycled materials. Life Source in Salem also carries a large selection of recycled paper products, including 7th Generation. Remember that napkins, paper towels and tissue paper are not recyclable in curbside recycling. If you really need some color, this is one place that you can have any color you want as long as they are sold as napkins. Many paper towels marketed as "extra strong" actually contain a layer of plastic which makes them non-compostable.
If you need to use paper plates, the least expensive, plainest plates are not only your best buy, they are compostable (but not in your green yard debris can due to food contamination). Chinet® plates are compostable, and their Casuals line comes in colors if you need that.
Tableware
Reusable tableware, like reusable cups, must be washed in a commercial dishwasher. A rental company will do this, and it is included in the rental charge. You just put the rented items in the trays provided and take them back to the rental company. Plastic tableware can be recycled, but not curbside. You will need to make arrangements with a plastics recycler to recycle it. I have a contact Marion County, and will be able to assist you.
Food Waste
Most food waste (except meat and dairy) and coffee grounds and filters can be composted at home and you can include the napkins. If you don't want to compost at home, make arrangements with a local gardener to take your compostable food waste. If that doesn't work, food waste (except the napkins) can go in your yard debris can where it will go to PRC for commercial composting. If you are in Salem or Keizer, you can even include meat, dairy, napkins, paper towels and pizza boxes.
Table Decorations
A festive table doesn't have to be austere to be sustainable. Consider decorating with living plants. In some cases you can rent plants. Or put live plants in decorative containers and give them out as door prizes. Fresh fruit, vegetables and nuts make great decorations, and your guests can eat them on the spot or take them home. Consider donating any left over fruit or vegetables to the local food bank.
For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever.
Henry David Thoreau
Event Planning