Green Picnic Ideas for Summer!

WASARA products, available from Branch Home, are biodegradable and eco-friendly.

Now that Earth Day has come and gone, it may be easy to forget those promises we made to always consider the environment. What better way to remember the importance of being green than enjoying the outdoors with a picnic? But dining outside often creates a significant amount of garbage, especially if we use plastic forks, paper plates and disposable cups. So we plan to picnic this year using biodegradable tableware, such as the WASARA collection available from Branch Home, and packing our food in an eco-friendly picnic basket. To ensure the greening of our picnics, we’re going to incorporate eco-friendly recipes, such as the ones found in Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods (Wiley, 2010).

Branch Home offers a variety of eco-friendly biodegradable and disposable tableware, including plates, bowls and trays ($5.50-$9 for packs of 50) made from sugarcane fiber by workers in China and Thailand paid fair wages. Or simply order the Biodegradable Party Kit ($48-$54) that serves 50 (it even includes three biodegradable waste bags for clean-up!). The WASARA collection features sleek designs, including wavy Kaku and Maru plates ($9 for a 12-pack of small, $12 for eight large plates), coffee cups and tumblers ($10 for six) and the wasara tray ($14 for eight).

If you’re packing a basket for an intimate picnic of two to four people, there’s the Eco Picnic Basket ($125-$150) from Uncommon Goods. The handwoven willow basket is packed with dishwasher-safe recycled glass goblets, natural cotton napkins and reusable bamboo plates, utensils and cutting board. The Eco Wine and Cheese Basket ($70), handwoven from willow and banana leaf, contains a bamboo cutting board and knife, recycled glass wine goblets and embroidered natural cotton napkins.

How do you keep your picnicking eco-friendly?