A Plastic-Free New Year's Eve

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Celebrating a plastic-free New Year’s Eve that is as environmentally friendly as possible is easier than you’d think - all you need is a little forethought and my ultimate guide. Whether you’re hosting a party or going out - here’s how to have a fun New Year’s Eve that won’t hurt the planet.

A Plastic-free New Year's Eve Party

Invites

Skip the printed invites, they’ll be tossed out within the week anyways. If calling or texting isn’t enough of a way to invite your friends, send them an E-vite instead.

Instead of paper invites, send wasteless New Year's Eve E-vites

Decorations

Instead of buying your third set of plastic decorations this year, here are some sustainable options that’ll make your party just as beautiful:

• Reuse old decorations, and add your own creative twist to make them fit your theme
• Instead of balloons and glitter, go for paper confetti
• If you absolutely have to buy decorations, go for long-lasting decorations like well-made fairy lights and fabric bunting
• For table decorations, use pine or fir twigs, go for silver and gold glass baubles and candles, or DIY some cardboard stars and paint them

Decorate your table with pine twigs and cones and serve finger food.

• DIY your own New Year’s banner with some paper and markers
• Edible decorations: Lay out some colorful homemade New Year’s theme cookies. Their colors will brighten up the party, and your guests will clean them up before the night is even over.

Food

The holiday season is known to produce high amounts of food waste, in the UK alone this amounts to nearly 70,000 tonnes of waste each year. Here’s what you can do to avoid that:

• Opt for finger foods: they’re easy to eat without the need for utensils. For example wraps and roll-ups, kebabs threaded with metal skewers, and vegetable sticks with dips.
• Provide plates that can be washed and put away instead of disposables
• Serve drinks in glasses. You can hire or borrow glasses, instead of providing plastic party cups.

Serve drinks in real glasses instead of plastic ones.

• Have a few stainless steel or glass storage bowls to keep leftovers in for the next few days, and you can even hand them out to some of your guests as sustainable party favors.

When the clock strikes midnight 

Fireworks and confetti are fun at the moment, but leave a huge mess that’s not only difficult to clean up but also not biodegradable. Opt for paper confetti and green fireworks instead.

Use confetti made of paper or, better yet, fallen leaves

Heading Out Instead?

If you’re going to be out and about celebrating New Year’s Eve, here are a few simple tips to make it plastic-free:

• Go nowhere without your stainless steel or glass bottle. You’re bound to get thirsty and rather than purchase another water bottle, simply refill your reusable one. Added plus: you can fill it with hot tea to keep you warm while you're out and about. 

Fill your reusable stainless steel bottle with hot tea so you stay warm during the celebrations. Photo: ©swell.com

• Most takeaway food spots are open to packing food into your personal containers. Take your reusable stainless steel food container to avoid the plastic disposables trap.

If you get food from a takeaway restaurant, bring your own insulated food storage container.

• Take your rubbish home with you, if you can’t find any bins near you.
• Better safe than sorry-carry a reusable bag (made of natural fabrics) to hold your things in case you make any impromptu purchases.
• If you do have to purchase food or drinks opt for the ones in sustainable packaging (glass, bamboo, compostable paper).

Plastic-free New Year’s Resolutions 

Countdown to 2023 with these simple plastic-free habits you can implement in 2023:

1. Take a reusable bag every time you go shopping, so you don’t have to accept plastic ones.
2. If you’re a coffee fan, keep a tumbler or mug with you to use at your coffee shops instead of taking a disposable cup every time.
3. Sort your rubbish into compostables, plastics and recyclables.
4. Join a plastic-free organization. 
5. Help your friends go plastic-free by sharing this post with them.

Want an easy guide to help you go plastic-free by the end of 2023? My Plastic Free Through The Year is all you need!