Summer has arrived in the Western hemisphere and it will be perfect weather to go for a picnic in the park. How can you reduce your carbon footprint of having a picnic with friends and family? Making a few changes will make a big difference without compromising on the fun.

Use low carbon modes of transport

Driving a car to a destination is the most carbon emitting form of transport. Research from the UK government shows how many grams of carbon dioxide is emitted per kilometre by different modes of transport:

Car (1 passenger): 171 grams

Bus: 104 grams

Car (4 passengers): 43 grams

Domestic rail: 41 grams

How you travel has a big impact on your total carbon footprint. Make use of public transport or walk/cycle where possible. Even doing this for part of the journey will make a big difference to the total carbon footprint of your journey, especially if you are travelling alone. If you need to use a car to get to your destination, there are two ways to cut down the carbon emissions of the journey. The first way is to do carpooling with those you are going with. This will cut down the number of individual car journeys and takes cars off the road. The second way is to drive more efficiently. This involves driving smoothly and avoid driving at high speeds because driving fast uses up more fuel. Putting weight on cars and under-inflated tyres also increases the amount of fuel used, so check the pressure of your tyre and use the rooftop to carry things only when you need to.

Only buy what you are going to eat

Research shows that we buy more than we need and end up throwing away a lot of food. Estimates of food waste range from 22% to 40% depending on the country. Food waste creates methane gas when it goes to landfill, which is a deadly greenhouse gas far stronger than carbon dioxide. So, plan ahead and be realistic about what will be eaten at the picnic.

Eat less meat and dairy and have more plants

Picnics are all about food. The easiest way to reduce the carbon footprint of picnic food is to avoid beef and lamb. The next thing that makes a difference is keeping meat and dairy to a minimum. It does not mean you should not have it at all but there are meats and cheeses that have a lower carbon footprint within their category which are better to choose. White meat and fish have a lower carbon footprint. The only fish that has a high carbon footprint is lobster and this should be avoided along with beef and lamb. When it comes to cheeses, soft cheese has a lower carbon footprint than hard cheese (apart from ricotta).

One thing to note that there are things you do not need to worry about when it comes to food and its environmental impact. Organic food is not going to solve climate change, so only buy it because you like the taste of it, not because of concerns over global warming. Also, it is less important to be concerned out where food comes from. Food items from abroad do have a higher carbon footprint. But most come here by boat rather than plane and the transport only accounts for 2% of all emissions from food. It is better to buy seasonally and locally but it is not a necessity. What you eat is more important than where it comes from.

Use reusable packaging for food

To cut the carbon footprint of your picnic, plan the packaging of the food. The more packaging that can be reused, the less single items you buying for wrapping/containing food and less packaging that will end up in landfill. Instead of wrapping sandwiches in aluminium foil or cling film, you can use reusable beeswax sandwich wrappers instead. A good way to store a salad is in a glass jar which can be used again. Food can be stored in metal tins or plastic containers. Avoid buying disposable plastic cutlery and instead bring your own reusable ones from home and take drinks in a refillable bottle. When carrying your food to a picnic spot, you can used reusable carrier bags, such as a tote bag or a picnic basket.

Dispose of waste properly

Using reusable cutlery and eating all the food you have brought will minimize waste you create from the picnic. Ideally, it is best to shop for items with recyclable packaging because less will go to landfill. Where possible, throw away waste that can be recycled, such as any containers made out of paper and cardboard. The most important thing is that you do not contaminate recycled products by putting waste in the wrong bin. Food waste should not be mixed in with recycled materials such as paper, metal and plastics and instead should be thrown in a separate bin for food waste only. If there is no food waste bin, then it should be thrown in the general bin. If food is thrown in recycling bins, it will contaminate recyclable materials that are already in there. If things like paper and cardboard are contaminated by food, then they can no longer be recycled and this is why it is so important food waste is separate from any other waste stream.