Summer is the perfect time to enjoy a picnic. But how green is your picnic if you’re bringing virgin plastic cutlery, paper plates, and paper napkins with you? As many places implement ‘carry in, carry out’ policies, we have to think about the effect our disposables are having on the municipal waste stream and how we can better minimize our impact.

Branch, which offers sustainable products for daily life, offers a series of biodegradable plates, bowls and napkins. These are made entirely of bagasse , which is a sugarcane fiber, a byproduct of the refining process.  It is a renewable material, but is often burned as a waste product instead of reused. Branch sells bowls, plates, trays, and platters made of this material that are unbleached and FDA approved.

Now all you need is your cutlery, right? Well, Branch offers a sustainable solution for that too. They sell forks, knives and spoons made of potato starch and vegetable oil which are also completely biodegradable. Their website advertises that the cutlery will decompose in just 180 days in a composting facility. A plastic fork (depending on the kind of plastic) can take decades to decompose. Tens, or even hundreds of years versus 180 days?

Lastly, Branch carries a line of cold cups made from a polymer that is derived from corn and other renewable resources. These are said to break down within 90 – 120 days in a commercial composting facility. Not only are these decomposing faster, but they are reducing our dependency on oil and focusing on products that we can grow in the US.

In addition to these biodegradable options, they also sell 100% recycled paper napkins. If you have to have disposable napkins, these may be a good choice but we can also suggest bringing your own cloth napkins from home, as these leave less of a waste trail.

Branch carries some great products for a more sustainable lifestyle. The only caveat for those trying to buy sustainable and local, is that many of their products are made in China or Thailand. If we can manufacture compostable tableware in the US instead of abroad, we can begin to close the loop in production, which would stimulate the local economy as well as be an environmental gain.

Though there are many options out there for biodegradable and compostable tableware, I like the selection at Branch because they clearly outline what their products are made of and why that is a more sustainable choice than its traditional counterpart. They also offer smaller quantities for the every day user, instead of only selling huge cases (better suited for retail). It’s important that it’s not only the food service industry that has access and incentive to buy these products, but that they are marketed for the individual as well.

We need to think about the purpose of the products we use and how the materials suit the need. Many products generally outlast the purpose they are built for, which contributes to greater waste. Instead, we can use biodegradable options that can be thrown into the compost pile or completely recycled when they’ve served their original purpose.

This post was first published on The Green Bean Blog. To continue reading, please visit Biodegradable Tableware: How to Have a Green Picnic is a post from:

How many times have you sorted through a pile of papers looking for a phone number you jotted down? Or looked, horrified, at your kids after they decided it was more fun to draw on the wall than the paper you gave them? Not to worry – now you can encourage creativity and communication with Ideapaint which lets you write, draw, or scribble directly on any number of surfaces, walls included.

With just one coat of Ideapaint, you can transform any smooth surface into a dry-erase board. The paint can coat anything from a tabletop to a refrigerator door.  Feel free to get imaginative; there are many uses for Ideapaint around the house. And the best part is that it’s both kid and adult friendly. Kids can doodle away, and parents can jot down important phone numbers, appointments, grocery lists, recipes, you name it. Families are brought together to play games, inspire creativity, or share ideas. Ideapaint is also available in a variety of colors, most of which are relatively muted except for a striking orange which could be a bright and fun choice. Ideapaint is not only more fun and flexible in its use, but is also a more sustainable product than your conventional dry-erase board.

As Ideapaint points out, they are the “most environmentally friendly dry-erase product on the market.” They eliminate the extraction of virgin materials such as steel, aluminum, resin, vinyl and wood used to manufacture conventional dry-erase or chalkboards, and they use less energy. Ideapaint is stirred where as manufactured dry-erase boards need to be baked and cured, a process that consumes a greater amount of energy. The paint is also better for air quality as it is formaldehyde-free, and once it is completely dry, does not produce any harmful gases. That said, while you’re painting, make sure to ventilate the space until the paint is completely dry. If you get tired of having a dry-erase board, or you are re-doing a room, simply paint over it and you’re done. Ideapaint helps keep dry-erase boards or chalkboards (and the raw materials they consist of) out of landfills.

Though Ideapaint has been praised for encouraging innovation and collaboration in our professional and educational systems, I think that it’s just as easy and fun to use around the house. Why not paint a patch of wall, put a frame around it and inspire your own masterpiece? Or paint the bottom of a tray and bring someone breakfast in bed with a personal note? Forget the piles of sticky notes and the scraps of paper, order a sample of Ideapaint and get creative.

This post was first published on The Green Bean Blog. To continue reading, please visit Write on the Walls: Dry-Erase Boards with Ideapaint is a post from: