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Setting Your Holiday Table - Living Green Vancouver |
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December 12, 2007
From the cutlery you choose to the actual table guests will gather around, sustainable alternatives for your holiday dinner get-together are available in Vancouver.
Looking for a ‘new’ table? Check out Vancouver’s Industrial Artifacts, a company that creates unique furniture utilizing waste or used materials in their innovative and functional designs. Most of their products consist of 90-95% recycled material.
If you don’t have enough forks and knives to accommodate everyone, Aspenware makes environmental friendly cutlery. Called WUN (wooden utensils naturally), it is the brainchild of three shop teachers from Vernon, BC, and is a beautiful, all-natural alternative to the millions of plastic forks, knives and spoons that end up in the landfill every year after parties and picnics. Not only do these guys make a biodegradable product from a renewal resource harvested on a small scale, they try to optimize the use of traditionally overlooked aspen and birch harvested using good forestry practices, or purchased from already harvested materials. Their plant runs on hydroelectric power and the manufacturing processes emits minimal, if any, carbon. The company cranks out 30,000 pieces of cutlery per day at their plant in Lumby, where their patented molding process turns thin wood veneers into elegant tableware. Lightly coated with non-toxic confectioner’s glaze, the pieces hardly seem disposable. They like to think of it as ‘WUN step’ towards healthy and resilient ecosystems, and their product has prompted consumers to question whether anything that is disposable can truly called considered sustainable. Some wood say it’s a cutting edge idea. Sustainability enthusiasts note that the cutlery can be used again and that we still live in a disposable society, so this product meets people half way by creating value from what is usually a waste product.
If organic cotton or bamboo napkins are not an option, consider using Seventh Generation napkins made from 100% recycled (90% post-consumer), unbleached fibre.
Need more stemware? Consider renting wine and highball glasses! It’s an easy and inexpensive alternative to plastic glass.
If you don’t have enough ceramic dishware, try Stalk market plates and bowls, produced from bagasse, or the sugar cane fibre, that is a by-product of the sugar refining process. Supplies of this product are virtually unlimited and its use eliminates the dependence on traditional petroleum materials in disposable tableware. In addition, diversion of bagasse into this product prevents harmful air pollution from the open burning of what was formerly considered waste. These bowls are microwave and freezer safe, cut-resistant and able to hold hot liquids. Put them to the test before you put them in your composter.
Dine by candlelight! Choose soy based candles, the wax of which is a 100% vegetable by-product (as opposed to petroleum) and is therefore a renewal resource that is non-toxic and non-carcinogenic. In addition, the Soap Farm uses only lead-free wicks in all of their soy candles. Soy burns with less soot than paraffin and at cooler temperatures so the candle lasts longer too.
If you are looking for eco-friendly table decorating ideas, why not consider the old tradition of bringing the outdoors in with organic trim from cedar boughs, pinecones, holly, mistletoe, and colourful bowls of fruit. Not only are they biodegradable, but also locally sourced and smell wonderful.
When the party is over and everyone has gone home, pull out the Ecosafe compostable garbage bags to hold all of your biodegradable dinnerware. These bags come in a wide range of sizes and gauges from lightweight liners to heavy-duty commercial bags. The bags are engineered tough, and can handle heavy loads. They are specifically designed to quickly degrade in 10 to 45 days and will fully biodegrade in less than 6 months when disposed of in an active compost.
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