As the holiday season approaches, you may be contemplating hosting a party at your house, and maybe you’re even contemplating how to minimize the waste from such a party. We recently had a big party in our backyard, and experimented with composting the garbage. Some things we did right, and some things not as well, so I wanted to share some learnings with any of you party people out there who might be cooking up a fabulous low-waste event of your own in the next few weeks.

We don’t have enough dishes and silverware for 60 people, so instead we ordered compostable plates, cups, napkins and flatware from Green Line Paper (there’s probably a local supplier near you). On the day of the party, we set up the trash area with one garbage can, one recycling bin, and for the compost, we used a smaller trash can lined with a brown paper bag.

One thing we didn’t do as well was to make clear signage to direct the composting, since it wasn’t exactly intuitive for most folks. If I were to do this again, I’d make a big sign that says:

PLEASE COMPOST YOUR GARBAGE
1. Scrape the food from your plate into the garbage.
2. Tear your plates and cups into 4 pieces and throw them in the compost bin.
3. Throw your forks and spoons into the compost bin.
4. Thanks for feeding the worms!

We didn’t actually have worms in our compost bin before, but a friend was nice enough to give us some from her kitchen worm bin to help speed up decomposition for such a large amount of stuff. If you had a well-running outdoor vermicomposting area, you could forego the plate-scraping and give the worms all the food waste (except for bones, if you had any). Even if you just have a kitchen worm bin, the torn up plates and cups make a great bedding medium for worms.

The party was great! And afterwards, we only threw one bag of garbage into the trash - and it wasn’t quite full - so I’m considering the effort a success. Party on, worms.

Link to the Source

If you liked this, You might also like:

1. Eco friendly party loot bags from Little Cherry
2. Anyone who's ever been a child will remember the real reason we showed up at friend's birthday parties: was...
3. Artist Diem Chau
4. A Vietnam native, Diem Chau and her family came to America as refugees in 1986. Chau is a BFA graduate...
5. How to Turn Junk Mail and Paper into Very Nice Bowls
6. I get alot of old paper, from magazines to junk mail to old telephone directories. I also work at a...
7. Retro Shower
8. Many brides have been dreaming about their wedding since they were wee lassies. Remind the blushing bride that her girlhood...
9. The FuseProject : Recycle Cool Water bottles into Toys!
10. Source Core77 fuseproject -- Y Water bottle Bottled-water-drinkers have surely noticed Poland Springs making the switch to lightweight bottles; once...
11. Recycle Bank Raises $13M (and Recycling Rates to 90%)
12. What if there were a reason to recycle? Wouldn't it be cool if you were, in some way, reimbursed for...
13. DNG/WESTWEEK/FERM LIVING PARTY AT TURQUOISE - UPDATED WITH PICTURES OF SHOWROOM
14. JORDAN CAPPELLA BAR AND FERM LIVING PANELS ON WALL I did not get a chance to take shots once people...
15. Obama Girl Has A Crush On… The Mashable Exhibit Hall Party!
16. It’s official! Obama Girl is attending tonight’s Mashable Exhibit Hall Party in New York City! For those of you...
17. Ceramic Food Warmer. This is a concept by Byung-seok You a…
18. Ceramic Food Warmer. This is a concept by Byung-seok You a ceramic plate that sits on a steam radiator, making...
19. Green Eco Friendly Kitchen Concept from Whirlpool
20. Whirlpool has presented its futuristic version of a “green” kitchen. It seems that more and more people and companies...