Want to have a truly zero waste wedding reception? Even if you’ve planned every detail of your wedding to be eco-friendly, if you’ve ever helped plan a wedding then you know that at the end of any event there tends to be quite a lot of waste. Here are some tips on how to recycle all of those things to make your event greener!
- Donate leftover food, to find a food bank in your area check out Feeding America. If you don’t live close to a food bank, send food home with guests and remind them to always compost!
- Resell your wedding gown, bridesmaid dresses, bridal accessories, etc. Follow the new trend of recycling your wedding gown with websites such as Recycled Bride which will resell your gown and let you reap about 50% of what you originally paid!
- Or donate your gown to organizations like Brides for a Cause who resell your gown to support a program called Wish Upon a Wedding which puts on weddings for couples with life threatening illnesses.
- Donate your flowers. Many hospitals, nursing homes, shelters and other facilities are happy to receive beautiful arrangement and you will be helping to brighten someone’s day!
- And lastly don’t forget to recycle all plastic, glass, metal, and paper to a recycling center. Earth 911 can help you find a recycling center close to your area.
To take it one step further, ask your venue ahead of time to remove all trash cans from the event space and only provide recycling bins. You can even make recycling bins that fit into your decor. If guests can’t throw items away in the garbage, you’re more likely to be able to control where the waste goes!
