The 4th of July holiday is always filled with family, fun and BBQ’s. This year, make your favorite summer holiday a little more green by following these easy suggestions:
1. Green Activities: July is a great time of year to take advantage of the weather and do family activities that bring awareness to sustainability issues. Go to a local farm and pick your own strawberries, go on a nature hike, or plant herbs in your yard that you can use later in cooking.
2. Offer Vegetarian Items at your BBQ: If you are hosting a BBQ, make sure to stock up on veggie burgers to give guests the option for a more eco-friendly meal. If you’re also going to be cooking traditional burgers, try to purchase grass fed organic beef. Grass fed beef is more sustainable because a grass diet doesn’t produce as much greenhouse gasses as a traditional cow’s diet of soy and corn. Furthermore, grass-fed cows aren’t exposed to as many chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics as other cows. For more about the Grass-Fed Revolution, check out this article from Time Magazine: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200759,00.html
3. Stay in Town: The 4th of July is a long weekend, which tempts people to travel, but traffic is likely to be worse than usual which means more car emissions! See what is going on nearby, many towns have their own fireworks shows, parades, and block parties. If nothing seems to be happening, it might be a great opportunity to host your own Go Local 4th of July Party.
4. Skip the Streamers: Many holiday decorations are one-time use items which aren’t very sustainable. They create unnecessary waste, and the decorations don’t make the party, the people do! Instead add flare to the party by serving red, white and blue snacks in small bowls around the venue: try strawberries, blueberries, M&Ms, peppermints, white chocolate covered raisins, raspberries, cupcakes with colored frosting, etc. Or purchase decorations that you can store and use year after year.
5. Provide directions to your guests. If your party is accessible by public transportation, make sure your guests know! And I don’t know about you, but I’ve probably wasted a lot of gas driving around when I’m lost. Many people have GPS systems these days, but it can never hurt to provide invitees with detailed driving directions.
6. Clearly label recycling bins: Even if attending someone else’s party, be a good guest and remind people to separate their recyclables from the rest of the trash.
7. Leave the Fireworks to the Professionals: Fireworks use a lot of gunpowder and usually release heavy metals in the atmosphere. These metals can leave toxic residues in the soil. See if you can find any nearby fireworks shows that use more eco-friendly fireworks like compressed air technique fireworks.
Happy Fourth of July!