GreenYour.com

As Americans, we consume huge quantities of disposable plates, cups, and flatware every month. Weddings, baby showers, birthday parties, holidays, and summer barbecues mean heaps of plastic cups, paper plates, and other non-reusable dinnerware items. We toss out about 25 billion polystyrene cups per year, and plastic and paper trash makes up 11 percent and 35 percent (respectively) of municipal solid waste in the US.[1][2]

Using eco-friendly tableware, whatever the occasion, can go a long way to cutting overall food-related waste. There are a number of ways you can do this:

• Buy reusable food service items;
• Choose dishes and flatware made with recycled content;
• Opt for biodegradable dishes and flatware;
• Supply friends and family with reusable water bottles.