If you’re excited about an upcoming Platinum Jubilee street party next week in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-reign, you’re definitely not the only one. Mind you, the environment is less happy about the situation as street parties usually involve a heap of one-use plastics bound for landfill.
Sandgate Road Diamond Jubilee Street Party / Image credit: Loop Images Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
It’s time to break that trend and consider more eco-friendly ways of throwing a party - and in the current financial climate, the following ideas will largely save you a lot of money too.
Get the whole street involved in making decorations
Instead of buying a load of cheap bunting, flags, honeycomb hanging decorations, paper chains and streamers that will ultimately end up in landfill, pool your craft resources and make the decorations. This is a wonderful way to get kids involved in the event. For example, for bunting and flags, all you need are old bedsheets or paper, some string and some paints.
Obviously, if you already have jubilee-themed decorations from other events, feel free to resurrect them - but if you want to get rid of them after, see if a charity shop will take them rather than throw them away.
Give non-reusable decorations a miss
Balloons can’t be reused and confetti isn’t great for the environment. We suggest avoiding balloons altogether and opting for biodegradable paper or petal confetti; if using paper confetti, ensure that no harmful dyes were used in the paper as this can harm the wildlife it will inevitably come into contact with.
Bring your own plates, cups, cutlery and napkins
Instead of creating a huge amount of waste with one-use plates, cups and plastic cutlery, not to mention tissue napkins, encourage the neighbours to bring their own stuff from their cupboards - and try to suggest bringing along washable napkins.
Ditch the clingfilm
To keep food safe from the elements, consider using reusable tupperware containers instead of wrapping it in clingfilm. If that’s not an option, at least opt for aluminium foil which can be recycled. Even better, reusable food wrap made from beeswax is a great option for keeping food fresh.
Host a costume making competition
A great way to encourage people not to buy cheap polyester costumes that will no doubt end up in the bin, you can host a costume competition that requires competitors to create costumes out of recycled materials. The best costume gets a stellar prize - but we’ll leave that to your imagination.
MORE: Queen’s Platinum Jubilee: Child-friendly party ideas
Set up clearly marked recycling points
If you do end up using one-use party items, ensure they are recyclable. Equally, ensure that they will get recycled and not end up in general waste. You can do this by setting up a recycling bin on the street, but be sure to mark it clearly so that it doesn’t end up as another general waste collection point.
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