How to Have an Eco-Friendly Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! First, I would like to acknowledge the dark side of this celebration. In the US, we celebrate this day together, but it is based on the colonial Pilgrims' 1621 harvest meal. But it wasn’t until 1777 that the first American Thanksgiving happened on November 1st where the 13 colonies joined to celebrate their victory over the British at Saratoga. The first National Thanksgiving still didn’t take place until 1863 when Abe Lincoln wanted to calm citizens during the Civil War.

Anyway, back to the first “thanksgiving.” Tisquantum was abducted from his Wampanoag home and was taken to Spain where he escaped, made his way to England and learned English, only to return to his Wampanoag homeland to find he was the sole survivor of his village, though other Wampanoag remained. But, he did find European settlers here who were really struggling to stay alive in this new land. He aided them in planting and with the successful harvest came a celebration. The pilgrims were so ecstatic they began shooting guns which alerted the Wampanoag. They gathered 90 members to scout the ruckus but did not engage. Though, tensions were high as there were only 23 survivors from the Mayflower. From oral histories, we also learn that they were not really invited to feast together, but rather partake in their own meals separately in the same general vicinity. The pilgrims deemed the Wampanoag friendly but still regarded them as savages.

The rest of the story is untold about what happened after this first Thanksgiving. But, much of what we are taught is simply not true. While this first Thanksgiving was not violent, it wasn’t exactly the friendship celebration we’re taught to believe. Plus with the dark history of what the US has done and still does to Native Americans, this is just the start of many false narratives we need to unlearn.

Now, I’m not saying to stop celebrating this holiday, but please continue to learn about the true roots of it and remember not to celebrate in accordance with the overly-stretched truth.

Why do I bring this up? Environmentalism is intersectional. It’s not just about reducing waste, but emissions, allowing native peoples to steward their lands once again, environmental racism, and so much more. But, those are topics for another day.

Let’s move on to how you can now honor the planet with this celebration.

Party

If you’re the one hosting the party, send out digital invites! It could be something as simple as a text to all of your friends and family or a group chat. Or, if you want to be fancy, design a quick e-invite on websites like Canva. I’m not sure it’s all too common for Thanksgiving, but please ditch the mailed invites. They’re a waste of postage, resources, and emissions.

But, maybe you’re traveling for Thanksgiving this year, travel in an eco way. Maybe you and some cousins carpool to grandma’s house. Maybe you’re able to drive or take a train instead of flying. Perhaps you just have a local friends-giving instead of flying thousands of miles to be with family. I know, it’s easier said that done, but if you can’t take off time or don’t have the budget to travel home, make the most of it and stay local.

Food

The star of the show for most parties is food but it’s the literal premise of this entire holiday!

First, know how many people you are cooking for. You don’t need to prepare 100 bread rolls for a party of 10 people. You don’t need several main dish options if you only have a few people attending. Of course, leftovers can be great, but there is such a thing as too much. So, be mindful not to overcook.

Speaking of leftovers, have a plan for them. If you like and enjoy them, save them and eat them! Maybe you have too much or you simply don’t like leftovers, send them home with guests who will eat them. Divvy them up so that no one has too much. Bonus points if you send them home in reusable and/or reused containers to prevent even more single-use waste.

If you’re hosting, make as much as you can from scratch to reduce waste. For example, making rolls from scratch usually just requires flour, water, and yeast, all of which can be found package-free or in recyclable packaging unlike bread rolls pre-packaged in thin plastics. Do what you can, of course. But, it may also be easier on everyone to do a potluck-style meal. Everyone brings a homemade dish or two which can greatly reduce the amount of work for one person AND it can still be very low waste.

Try a vegan Thanksgiving or try fewer animal products. If you’re open to it, go animal-free! This is why eating fewer animals is better for the planet. But, if that’s not an option for you and your family, try fewer animal products. Swap out vegan-margarine for butter, have one less meat option, and so forth. Not only is this better for the planet, but it’s more accessible to those who are vegan and vegetarian in your family.

When it comes to food, buy as local as possible. Go to a local orchard to get apples and pumpkins for your pies. Check out a local turkey farmer to get your bird. Support your local farmers for other side dishes like brussels sprouts, green beans, etc. If this isn’t possible, try a local grocery store versus a big chain! This is why shopping small is so much better for the planet.

Don’t throw food scraps away! Yes, compost them, but also, get creative with them! Apple scraps can be saved to make homemade apple cider vinegar. Your leftover pumpkins from Halloween can be used to make pies or other side dishes like roasted pumpkin. You can get more ideas on how to be creative with your Thanksgiving food waste in this video.

Why prevent food waste? Well, every year, Americans will waste over 300 million pounds of food…JUST FROM THANKSGIVING! One day, one country. That is wild. Not to mention, when this food waste ends up in the landfill, it creates methane emissions which is a very harmful greenhouse gas. You can learn more about the environmental impact of food waste here.

Serving

It’s time to serve up the meal! Let’s do so in a less wasteful way. The average US household will increase their waste by 25% from Thanksgiving to Christmas from things like food waste, decluttering, unwanted gifts and decor, and disposable plates, cups, and so forth. Let’s reduce that.

First, try to use reusable plates, bowls, cups, and cutlery. Yes, even if you’re hosting a large group. How? Head to the thrift store to snag some extras for cheap. I did this when we hosted in Okinawa and it was so easy to clean up! I also liked that this meant I didn’t have to take the trash out multiple times in one day. They are also more durable and easier to reuse throughout the night.

But, if this just isn’t an option for you for one reason or another, opt for the most eco-friendly disposables that you can such as paper plates, bioplastic cups, bioplastics utensils, and so forth. Head to your local store and look for paper options, or, my personal favorite is available online. That brand is Repurpose. They do bioplastics, paper, and all things plant-based materials that are commercially compostable and are less pollutive to create than regular plastics.

For drinks, make some drinks and serve them on tap with beverage dispensers. Things like tea, lemonade, juice, punch, apple cider, etc are all easy to either make homemade or to buy in larger packaging. For example, it’s better to buy one gallon of apple juice versus 16 8oz bottles of apple cider, it’s far less packaging! Other drink items can also be made from scratch like lemonade to really reduce the waste!

Or, opt for drinks in recyclable packaging such as cans and bottles instead of pouches and boxes. This does depend on your area, so opt for what you can recycle locally.

Ensure you’re also offering guests the chance to recycle and compost to help everyone (and your household) reduce as much from the landfill as possible. Have bins available and label them with rules so that guests don’t get confused and you don’t have to sort it later (yes, this is coming from experience haha).

Games & activities

Part of gathering together is so have fun! We can do that with less waste involved. First, opt for waste-free activities such as watching the football game together, playing cards (my midwest family loves euchre), playing an outdoor game like kickball or hide and seek, coloring, or just catching up over drinks.

Ultimately, avoid wasteful games. I’ve seen some that include wrapping dollar store junk in saran wrap and people try to get to the prizes. This entire game is wasteful. Any game that involves food waste should be avoided. I’m not trying to knock down anyone’s traditions, but be mindful of how much waste they create and try to find less wasteful alternatives this year.

Overall, I think Thanksgiving is one of our least wasteful holidays in the US. Holidays like Christmas and Easter, the waste can really add up from clothes to gifts and candy and more. Do what you can and see how much more eco-friendly your Thanksgiving can be.

At the end of the day, don’t let the stress about the waste take away from quality time with friends and family. Don’t stand at the recycling bin monitoring what goes in there, don’t burn yourself out making every little thing from scratch. Of course, if this is your thing, go for it! But a little bit of waste is inevitable and not the end of the world. Don’t get me wrong, every little small positive action matters, but please, don’t let it take away from your joy and quality time.

Happy Holidays! I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season so far and that this guide is helpful for you in hosting a low-waste Thanksgiving this year.

Want more tips?

More ways to reduce Thanksgiving food waste

How to Throw a Zero Waste Party

How to have a Low Waste Christmas

Thank you so much for reading along. I greatly appreciate your time. As always, remember that your small actions make a big difference in the long run :)

Emma

Party

Food

Serving

Games & activities

Want more tips?

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