Seven Ways to Host the Greenest BBQ Ever!

Summer BBQ season is here! It’s a time for summer gatherings full of party recyclables, and a great time to refresh your memory on how to reduce, reuse and recycle right. Follow the seven tips below and not only will you be keeping America beautiful this summer, you will impress your guests with the greenest BBQ ever!

• Set up for success. Make a point to direct your guests to clearly marked recycling and trash bins so they can help you sort during the party. It gets messy when the bottles mix with potato salad!
• Use pitchers for beverages such as water, lemonade and iced tea. Instead of buying personal-sized beverage containers, make your beverages (homemade raspberry lemonade, anyone?) and serve them in pitchers. Which leads us to…
• Provide a marker next to plastic cups so guests can write their names on the cups. BBQ party guests can easily lose track of their drinks and therefore use more than one cup. By giving them a way to mark their drink it will help them to use less. Encourage your guests to get creative with their signatures!
• Collect plastic wrap separately for a drop-off. Plastic grocery bags, hot dog and hamburger bun bags, bags of ice – these plastic bags are also recyclable but not in the curbside recycling bin. Find a retailer near you that collects them: http://www.plasticfilmrecycling.org/s01/s01dropoff.html
• Choose reusable or compostable dishware and utensils. Time to bust out your good silverware! To lighten the trash load, consider using regular plates and utensils rather than disposable. If you have composting services available, compostable plates and utensils may be an option for you, too.
• Remember that many of the BBQ staples can be recycled. Dip containers, salsa jars and cracker boxes.
• Know the compostable food scraps. If you’re a backyard composter, collect those foods scraps for your compost bin. Here is a quick tip sheet from our friends at EPA: http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/tools/greenscapes/pubs/compost-guide.pdf

Visit IWantToBeRecycled.org to learn more about how and why to recycle common items you generate at home, work, and on the go. National sponsors and partners of Keep America Beautiful and Ad Council's “I Want To Be Recycled” campaign include American Chemistry Council, City of Austin, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Niagara Bottling and Unilever.