Eco-Friendly Picnics

Holding an Eco-friendly picnic is becoming easier and easier as green information and products become more widely available. The following suggestions offer healthier options for you and the environment this Labor Day weekend.

• Be kind to landfills by trying recycled or biodegradable containers. Use biodegradable garbage bags such as BioBags. Use foil—or, even better, recycled foil—rather than plastic wrap, for leftovers. Another option is recycled paper napkins, biodegradable plates made from sugarcane and utensils made from potato starch. Check out Eco Products or Office Depot, which carries plates by Baumgarten. Future Green in Bay View carries various To-Go Ware items including bamboo utensil kits and stainless steel food carriers.

• Use real dishes, or bring your own utensils or dishware to parties, to cut down on the plastic or Styrofoam items that will be tossed at the end of the party.

• Help your guests by providing clearly marked bins for recycling (bottles and cans) and composting appropriate food waste.

• Serve organic and locally produced beverages, snacks and food. (We're in the midst of the nationwide "Eat Local Challenge" - for more information, resources and recipes go to www.eatlocalmilwaukee.org.)

• Fill re-usable containers or pitchers with filtered tap water instead of providing dozens of individual plastic water bottles for your guests.

• The cleanest-burning grills are electric, followed by propane and then natural gas. But if you're set up to do it the old fashioned way, don't use briquettes, which have been soaked in petro-based lighter fluid, or charcoal made with coal dust, sawdust, starch, sodium nitrate, limestone, or petroleum products. Instead, look for Cowboy Charcoals or Sierra Madre Oak Charcoal and ethanol-based lighter fluids.
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• Avoid sunscreens that contain paraben, cinnamate, benzophenone or camphor derivatives. Look for zinc oxide (at least 6%) combined with a base of natural organic oils and ingredients.
  

• Avoid bug repellents that contain DEET (N-diethyl-meta-toluamide). Look for natural brands that use plant oils like citronella, cedarwood, lemongrass, and peppermint. Kiss My Face's Swy Flotter or Aubrey Organics' Gone! with SPF are just two of the many that work great.

I want to make one last mention of the Time for Lunch campaign—an effort to get healthier food into our children's school lunch programs. For more information, to sign a petition, and to find dates and locations of eat-ins (potluck picnics for a cause) being held throughout Milwaukee this weekend, go to: www.slowfoodwise.org.

(Image by Wikipedia user Postdlf)