The entire clan is coming to your house for the holidays, and you only have dishes for six. Time to break out the paper and plastic plates? Or get fancy and hit the mall for new china place settings?
How about a green choice: table settings that don't create a lot of trash, or require a lot of resources to produce.Two options for adding a little green to your table (and I'm not talking about that casserole topped with crunchy onions) are:
Bambu Veneerware
Available from many online sources, these disposable plates are made of organic bamboo, which is a fast growing, renewable, sustainable plant.
The actual plates are biodegradable too. Stick them in your compost pile and they break down in four to six months (you can leave the food scraps on, so easier clean-up after the meal!).
Bambu Veneerware comes in packs of eight and cost around $8 to $12. If you don't have time to order them on the Web, many Cost Plus World Market stores carry these plates.
Thrift stores
For a slightly smaller crowd or if you need big serving dishes, try thrifting. Second-hand stores always have plenty of inexpensive dishes.
You're giving new life to goods that might have otherwise headed to a landfill, plus you can find unique and charming pieces.
I've bought a ton of gorgeous silver serving platters from Goodwill and other thrift-stores over the years, and these look great on my holiday table. Second-hand shops are also good places to look for tablecloths and cloth napkins.
You can set your whole table, while reducing waste at the same time.
Check out Yahoo! Green on Facebook.
