Food and drink

Opt for meatless options. Serving guests a vegetarian main course would save water and reduce your event’s carbon footprint. It takes 1,850 gallons of water to produce a single pound of beef and 519 gallons for a pound of chicken, but only 39 gallons to produce the same amount of veggies. Cutting back on red meat specifically can have a significant positive impact on our climate. NRDC’s Less Beef, Less Carbon report found that Americans shrank their diet-related carbon footprint by 10 percent over a decade by eating less beef.

PLAN

Planning is the key to a waste-free event. Consider using a portion planner to plan the amount of food you will need. The interactive Guest-imator tool, part of NRDC’s Save the Food initiative, lets you plug in the number of guests you’re expecting, what kind of eaters they are—"small,” “average,” or “big”—and whether you want leftovers. In response, it gives a calculation telling you how much to prepare in order to fill everyone up and avoid trashing the excess. Note, however, that most portion planners do not assume that there will be eight other dishes available as well. Knock the number of attendees to ¾ of the actual number of people you expect for calculations. If you’re not sure how much you’ll need, try to pre-cook and freeze some of your dishes. When it’s time for the event, reheat in batches only as needed to avoid excess food. See the NRDC’s Addressing the Holiday Excess: Four Steps to a Waste-Free Party for more information on food planning.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Addressing the Holiday Excess: Four Steps to a Waste-Free Party
• Save the Food
• Guest-imator
• Less Beef, Less Carbon
• 10 Tips for Hosting a Wonderful and Waste-Free Holiday

Waste

For a useful discussion of waste reduction, see the EPA’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle webpages, and the EPA’s Resource Conservation section on reduction and reuse.

RECYCLING

Make sure recycling containers are clearly labeled and recycling procedures are explained to all employees. Work with employees to learn about what items are recycled in the building and how they should be sorted. Clearly mark recycling bins with pictures of the items they accept, make sure they are in convenient locations, and point them out during initial backstage tours.

Consider using NRDC’s Paper Recycling Signage (PDF) as a model for your paper recycling signs. For listings of recycling service providers, visit Earth 911 and the Environmental Yellow Pages. For a comprehensive discussion on waste recycling, reuse, and reduction, see the EPA’s Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle pages.

FOOD WASTE

Instead of throwing away unused food, consider donating it to a nearby food bank or homeless shelter. Contact your local food banks, or visit Feeding America for information about food banks near you.

COMPOSTING

Composting is the controlled breakdown of organic waste (generally landscaping waste and certain types of food) into a useful product that can be used as a mulch and fertilizer. It is easy and cost-effective, and since it can reduce the volume of your theatre’s waste stream and reduce your need to buy mulch and fertilizer, composting can even save money. You can consider whether it’s possible to set up a composting program on-site, or work with your waste hauler or other local haulers to collect organic waste for off-site composting.

For listings of compost service providers near your city, visit Biocycle’s Find A Composter and Earth 911’s Business Resources directory. Also visit the EPA’s Compost website for more information on composting.

Invitations

Send electronic invitations to reduce paper waste. There are many free online programs that allow you to easily personalize your invitation, such as evite.com and punchbowl.com.

Party Favors

Consider handing out eco-friendly party favors, such as reusable straws, bags, or water bottles, that will have a positive, green impact. Refuse party favors that are likely to be forgotten about, go unused, or thrown out.

Also, choose favors that come in small or recyclable packaging, or that you can buy in bulk to save packaging waste.

Proceeds

If your event includes a sale or auction, consider donating a portion of the proceeds to your favorite environmental non-profit, such as the Broadway Green Alliance, NRDC, or any other who has a Green message that you believe in.