Eat & Drink
- Avoid disposable plates and forks at your barbecue. Bonus points if your dinnerware and silverware is made of sustainable or recycled materials, like the bamboo dinnerware and recycled glass wine glasses from this Uncommon Goods Picnic Basket. Or, if you must use disposables, consider biodegradable dinnerware from companies like Biocorp or Earth Shell.
- Wonder which cooking method is greener? Natural gas is cleaner and more energy-efficient than burning wood or charcoal, which generates tiny soot particles that pollute the air and cause lung and heart health problems.
- If you insist on grilling with charcoal, there are a few that are environmentally-certified – look for Rainforest Alliance Smartwood sustainably-harvested charcoal. Or check out the Baja BBQ Fire Pack from Mike and Maaike. It uses 100% biodegradable paper pulp packaging that contains 2 lbs of natural lump charcoal.
- Wood ash can be used sparingly as fertilizer – but be aware that it is very alkaline. Charcoal ash, however, contains dangerous trace elements and should be carefully disposed of in the garbage.
- Always grill your meats at proper temperatures and check with a thermometer to reduce the risk of E. coli, salmonella, campylobacter, and Listeria, found in undercooked ground beef and poultry. Better yet, you can limit your over all exposure to these risks by cooking more veggies than meat. Not only do veggies have a lower carbon footprint than meat, they are less likely to be infected with these bacterias. If you do go with meat on your menu, be sure you buy from organic and local farms. Wash your hands and surfaces often.
- Buy local produce from a farmer’s market or co-op, instead of buying chemically-treated packaged vegetables from the supermarket. Make sure to clean veggies thoroughly to remove any traces of dirt or manure.
- This is a no-brainer, but recycle! If you serve bottled or canned beverages, try to purchase family-size drinks instead of multiple individual-size cans or bottles.
- When you’re done grilling, scrape the grill while it’s still hot and clean the grate with baking soda and a wire brush, rather than harsh chemicals. Use our DIY cleaning tips for any other messes you might have.
See Grist.org and AOL Food for more eco-grilling tips! Happy Fourth of July.
Now you’re ready to start celebrating July 4th in true patriotic red, white, blue – and green – spirit! To make this Independence Day holiday even better, we’re giving away an Eco Picnic Basket valued at $150 from Uncommon Goods to 1 lucky reader – complete with bamboo plates, a bamboo cutting board, bamboo silverware, recycled glass wine glasses, and natural cotton napkins! Simply share an eco barbecue or picnic tip in our comments section below by July 12, 2009 to enter to win.
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- 14 comments
- Your thoughts?
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Comments
yvette
Try planning bbq’s and picnics at a local area so that you can walk or bike. When not going local, remember to carpool!
This basket is too cute 
Andrew
If using charcoal, grill using smaller pieces of food (veggies or meat) and then you can use less fuel. Think Japanese-style yakitori on a skewer. Smaller pieces cook faster and therefore less heat (fuel) is necessary.
Jamie
one can also use an electric grill, many have small reservoirs that heat with the grill, add herbs and water to infuse whatever your grilling with that particular flavor. To add a bit of the real bbq taste try adding a 1/4 teaspoon of liquid smoke along with the water.
tiffany
Try using cleaner charcoal instead of the normal briquette ones. Make sure you cover the entire grill with food to maximize use.
Maya
Trim your meats of excess fats. Not only will this reduce flareups and release of harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, but also reduce those pesky love-handles!
sasha
Try to avoid using paper towels for clean up. Use regular towels or rags that you can wash and re-use later.
Andrew
Compost any extra/wasted fruits, vegetables, and other compost-able material you might have. If you don’t already have a composting bin set up at your home, this could be a great time to start one!
Desiree
Find out if your camping site has water fountains nearby, and bring reusable bottles rather than buying bottled water. Also, make sure to bring sharpies for marking drinks so guests finish their own (and are less likely to litter if their name is on it!)
Congratulations Desiree! You’re our winner!
Jacqueline
1. Don’t buy fruits and vegetables with a lot of packaging (such as at Trader Joe’s)
2. Be sure to hold your picnic in the most central location for everyone – driving creates tons of GHG emissions!
3. Hold your picnic outdoors so you don’t waste energy through lighting and AC.
4. Don’t go to costco to buy everything, thinking that more is better! Often times you just buy too much food, and a lot of it gets wasted! Wasting products that took energy to produce, package, and distribute, is a horrible waste of emissions!
Happy picnic-ing! 
Erin Martinez
One could use a solar oven for baking to supplement the BBQ. Love the basket!
Mona
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Sue C.
Clean up after yourselves!! 1) use real plates,silverware, and reusable containers then bring them back home to clean (we bring a plastic tub for this) and 2) make sure to leave nothing behind – take your leftovers and trash back home to recycle, compost, etc. (we bring a few trashbags for this)
Susan M
I stopped using paper plates when hosting a cookout. I purchased different colors of ceramic plates to use instead. You can decorate around them for any occasion. When done, I wash them by hand using an eco friendly dish liquid.
Tracy Hepler
Congratulations Desiree Li — You’re our winner!
