5 Tips For Organizing An Eco-friendly Picnic
The French love picnics, these outings in nature synonymous with relaxation and conviviality. However, to ensure that your lunch on the grass is truly in harmony with the setting and respectful of the environment, forget about packaging and disposable dishes! Here are 5 tips to organize an eco-friendly picnic that limits plastic and waste
1- Switch to plastic-free picnics
For decades, our meals in nature have been accompanied by plastic cups and cutlery. With the gradual banning of single-use plastics, alternatives are readily available in stores.
To organize an eco-friendly picnic, forget plastic cutlery and prefer Opinel knife and/or reusable cutlery in stainless steel! From now on, even the straws are no longer plastic but made of paper, bamboo or metal...
Following the same reusable logic, equip yourself with water bottles (stainless steel or glass) instead of carrying plastic water bottles. All reusable cutlery and accessories help reduce the waste associated with your outdoor meal.
2- Choose fabric over paper
A second tip for limiting picnic-related waste is to replace paper with cloth, especially for the tablecloth and napkins.
The traditional cloth check tablecloth as well as old-fashioned cloth napkins are much more environmentally friendly than paper. In fact, paper towels and tissues are thrown away as soon as they are used.
If you want to have an eco-friendly picnic, get into the habit of wrapping each sandwich in a cloth napkin. This trick will save you from using cling film, a plastic freezer bag or aluminum foil, which are not environmentally friendly materials.
And if you don't have a cloth tablecloth for your nature lunch, you can simply use an old sheet to spread on the grass before laying out your victuals.
3- Cook homemade and in season
As far as food is concerned, avoid buying your sandwiches and salads at the supermarket because these industrial preparations are usually packaged in plastic trays!
The third reflex to adopt to organize an eco-friendly picnic by limiting waste and packaging of all kinds is to homemade. Homemade is not only better in taste but also better for the planet, especially if you use seasonal products.
Take advantage of the beautiful season to prepare tomato salads, tabbouleh or pan bagnat niçois! Slices of Melon to serve as an appetizer or dessert are easy to take along in a bento style airtight box.
The salted or sweet cakes with vegetables and fruits in season have the double advantage of being easy to make and to take away for lunch on the grass.
4- Reuse your jars and jars
To transport and serve your homemade food preparations, again favor reusable containers, such as glass jars and jars. The choice of containers is very important when hosting an eco-friendly picnic.
In practice, you can serve your summer salad mixes in small glass jars or stainless steel tumblers. You can also use Le Parfait jars for your fruit salads.
When hiking, stainless steel is lighter to carry than glass if you plan to hike before your picnic.
And if you need to carry a picnic every day for your lunch break at work, we recommend investing in a lunch box or Japanese bento. These reusable boxes can hold your entire lunch thanks to compartments. They are usually sturdy and waterproof.
5- Equip yourself with a basket or a bag
To transport your picnic, you will avoid using a plastic bag!
If you don't have a wicker or rattan picnic basket, carry your victuals in a large reusable cloth bag such as a tote bag or tote bag (for bread and accessories). Prefer an insulated backpack for more heat-sensitive foods.
If you followed the zero waste tips above, you won't even need a plastic bag as a trash bag! A simple paper bag will suffice to collect the few scraps generated by your outdoor meal.
And of course, to make your picnic truly eco-friendly, remember to check to make sure you didn't forget/leave anything in the wild before you leave. All trash counts, even cigarette butts which are small but highly polluting.
