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Recology King County

Hi Recology, 

I am planning a birthday party for my friend, and I’ve realized that there is a lot that could go to waste when I am decorating and planning the setup of this party. How can I minimize having so much go to waste after this event? 

Thank you,
Max

Don’t worry, Max!

By making simple changes to how you and your friends celebrate, you can reduce waste and still enjoy your event. A great way to strategize for this is the four, tried-and-true Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. 

  • The most important among these four is the first. Remember to only buy gifts, wrapping, bows, and decorations that are essential to your celebration. By refusing to purchase unnecessary items, you can immediately eliminate the possibility of things going to waste. 
  • Refusing to purchase certain items will also help you prioritize what is needed for your gathering, making it more likely that you can reduce which that you are going to use (think: less is more!). Go easy on the wrapping paper, flashy single-use décor, and plan to buy a few quality gifts over a large quantity of them. 
  • Reuse old gift bags and decorations from previous years and re-envision décor by making them out of materials you already have. Any leftover food items should be stored sustainably, in compostable materials such as beeswax, or in reusable containers such as glass mason jars. 
  • At the end of it all, you should recycle what you can. Wrapping paper, boxes, and bags can be recycled if they are without gloss, lamination, or other 3D decorations. Food scraps and uncoated foodsoiled paper can be composted, too!

Birthdays are meant to be for celebration, and there is never a dull moment to practice Waste Zero principles!

As always, we can answer any additional questions you may have through email, at [email protected] or via social media!

For more ideas on how to reduce waste, visit one of our Recology stores! The Burien Recology store is located at 15858 First Avenue S, #A100 Burien, WA (map below).

You can also find more Waste Zero tips on our Recology King County social media pages listed below:

Thanks for wasting less!
Recology

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