Limit disposable and single-use items in refreshment orders, or bring your own food and drinks to meetings.
Welcome to Week 34 of 50 Ways to Reduce Your Waste Line. Last week, we asked you to consider using eco-friendly cleaning and personal hygiene products and avoiding harsh chemicals. This week, we challenge you to limit disposable and single-use items in refreshment orders, or bring your own food and drinks to meetings. This week’s topic moves us into the fourth (of five) tier of progressively deeper green suggestions on each of 10 topics.
Arranging to have food and drinks at staff meetings and the like is usually a much appreciated gesture, whether it is coffee/tea/juice/water, pastries and treats, or even a light meal. However, from an environmental perspective, a lot of waste can result from both used and unused single-use items including:
- paper hot drink cups and plastic lids
- plastic cold drink cups and straws
- plastic cutlery and stir sticks
- paper plates and bowls
- paper napkins, paper towels and the like
- individual coffee creamers, sugar packets, jams, etc.
- bottled water and single-serving juice and pop cans or bottles
What Can You Do to Reduce Your Waste Line?
First, determine what you and your meeting attendees can bring yourselves. Easy options include coffee mugs and glasses/cups for cold drinks. Cloth napkins that can be taken home and washed don’t require much work and add a nicer feel than paper. With a bit of coordination, even plates/bowls and cutlery are no big deal when a few people chip in to help.
Next, have a discussion with your food service provider/caterer about what to include and NOT include in your order. Bottled water, regardless of size, should be struck off the list from the start. Ask for jugs of ice water, or we have filtered water fountains and bottle-refilling stations all over each campus. If items such as individual coffee creamers, sugar packets, jams, etc., cannot be provided in larger sizes, then consider supplying them yourself, excluding them from the order, and keeping the remainder in the office for the next meeting. For items that you cannot do without, get a clear understanding of whether your caterer will use leftover unused items; if not, lower the quantity and be sure to take them with you at the end of the meeting to find a future (re)use for them.
Potlucks, or variations thereof, are also a great way to reduce waste at meetings. And they provide wonderful variety from the standard fare.
For whatever waste is unavoidable, make a trip out into the hall to the nearest Zero Waste bin and designate someone knowledgeable to guide people in properly sorting what must be discarded. Additional guidance is available at What Goes Where?
