Green Your Labor Day Weekend: Don’t let your Labor Day Party “labor” the earth

Posted by Lisa Carey

Labor Day is just around the calendar corner. For many, Labor Day weekend is a time to celebrate a long weekend, the closing of swimming pools, back to school or even the impending end of summer.

Labor Day, like all holidays, isn’t really a “gift” to the environment as people tend to drive more, eat out more, consume more, buy more bottled water, use more electricity, water and so on during holidays. We can also let our good green habits like recycling, composting, and reusing slip over holiday weekends. After all, it’s just a weekend right?

7 Ways You Can Commit to an Eco-friendly Labor Day Weekend

1. Just say No to H2O in plastic bottles

Fill up plenty of reusable water bottles for the family and add them to the fridge. Let everyone know, whether they are headed to the beach, mountains, pool or backyard, that they shouldn’t take a holiday from just saying no to plastic water bottles.

2. Make a few meatless meals

There’s really no argument that meatless meals are considerably greener than meals with meat (that has traveled far and from an animal whose own feeding left major carbon footprints). You don’t have to become a vegetarian, but with harvest in full swing this a great time to try something new like a roasted eggplant panini or corn relish stuffed tomatoes.

3. Visit a local orchard

Support your local orchard over the long Labor Day weekend. Stock up on local, organic fruits for your Labor Day recipes like fruit salads or grilled fruits.

If our local orchards go away, how far will our fruit have to travel? If your fruit doesn’t come from a family owned orchard, how likely is it to be organic?

4. Use Eco-Friendly Charcoal for your Labor Day BBQ

BBQ grilling is a Labor Day tradition. Unfortunately, most charcoals are far from green. Charcoal often has coal dust and additives that float to your food. Not only is this unhealthy for your family, the deforestation to manufacture charcoal is bad for the environment. Look for charcoal with either the Forest Stewardship Certification or Rainforest Alliance SmartWood logo.

5. Serve it up Eco-Friendly

The best eco-friendly option is to use your own silverware and plates. With a few guests pitching in to load a full dishwasher, this is a viable green option.

If you can’t go all the way, consider a compromise like buying compostable plates and using your own silverware. Another idea is to do a “BYOC,” Bring Your Own Cup, to avoid disposables and everyone will know whose is whose to avoid waste.

6. Recycle Compost at your Labor Day Get Together

Make it obvious to your family and guests that you expect them to recycle their beverage bottles or compost their watermelon rinds.

7. Do a Green Family Project Together

Over the long weekend, instead of just being consumers, consider giving back.

Together your family can plant a tree, create a rain garden, build a birdhouse, or up cycle an unused household item.

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