How can you throw a party that keeps down carbon emissions? The events industry contributes 10% to global carbon emissions every year. That is the equivalent of the carbon emissions of the USA. Throwing a party involves buying lots of single-use items such as plastic cutlery and decorations that have been made from far away and flown from abroad, and after being used for a few minutes, end up in the bin. Most of this will be unrecyclable because items contaminated with food cannot be recycled. Also, parties usually mean buying lots of food, with much of it being wasted. Food waste that goes to landfill causes methane which is a greenhouse gas. You can make throwing a party eco-friendlier by following the tips below. These actions will reduce the carbon emissions produced from what you use at your party.

Avoid beef and lamb

The most carbon-emitting meat is beef and lamb. Beef is the main driver of deforestation in the world because so much land is needed to rear cows. Lamb also has an almost equally high carbon footprint. If you can substitute beef and lamb for chicken, pork and fish then this will significantly reduce your carbon footprint. When it comes to food, what you eat matters more than where it comes from, so you should be less worried about food being local. Also, food does not need to be organic to be sustainable.

Use recyclable wrapping paper for presents

Unfortunately, not all wrapping paper is recyclable. What recycling experts say is recyclable is wrapping paper that is scrunchy (it will keep its shape when you scrunch it) and has no glitter on it. This will make it easier to reduce waste created from the party.

Avoid plastic

Most plastic is hard to recycle and ends up on landfill and in the sea, harming sea life. It doesn’t help that there are many types of plastic of which only some can be recycled. Flexible plastic can’t be recycled, which is part of lots of packaging. So where possible, avoid using single use plastics like balloons and party poppers.

Compost food leftovers

Food waste is globally a very big problem and contributes 8-10% to greenhouse emissions. Food waste causes methane, which is a greenhouse gas, if it goes to landfill. Ways to avoid this is not to buy too much food for the party and what is left over should go in the compost bin.

Rent what you need for a party

You may not think twice about buying single use items such as paper plates, cups and napkins, but paper products cause 13% of deforestation. Each year, 16.5 million trees are cut down to make paper cups. Also, these products are contaminated by food and cannot be recycled despite that they are made of paper. Ultimately, they will end up in landfill and create more greenhouse emissions. So, try using reusable items where possible to help reduce deforestation and waste.

Reduce amount of dairy in party food

Dairy products are products that include milk which comes from cows. This is why products with milk have much high carbon emissions. If it possible to substitute food that typically has milk in it, such as cakes, biscuits, mayonnaise and cheese for dairy free substitutes, the better it will be for your carbon footprint.

Think about what goes in the party bags

If you are throwing a kids party, then you are probably giving out party bags. The best thing to do is put in products that are made of wood, paper and glass because they are easy to recycle. Avoid plastic because they are hard to recycle and in reality only 10% of plastic is ever recycled.

Think about whether you can take more low carbon journeys to parties

Think about whether you can share journeys with other people going to the party. Car-pooling takes cars of the road and reduces greenhouse emissions. Taking public transport is the lowest carbon emitting form of transport and is the best way to travel to a party. If public transport is not an option, then there could be options to rent low carbon electric vehicles, such as electric cars, electric bikes and electric scooters.