Color Your Picnic Green

With the right choices, you can make sure your outdoor picnic and summer celebration is fun, simple and as waste-free as possible. Enjoy some of these helpful hints to color your picnic green!

RUG:

Find the perfect spot in a grassy area and lay down a rug that's good for the earth and easy to care for, too. Vivaterra's reclaimed oriental rug looks like a fancy woolen woven rug, but it's really made from recycled plastic soda bottles and reclaimed plastic packaging. Interlocked plastic tubular threads create a stain-proof rug that can be used indoors and outdoors; it can be washed down with a garden hose and left outside to dry. Because it's woven plastic, it won't trap water or grow mildew.

PRICE: $39

TIP: Just roll up the rug and keep it snug with two belts to carry to and from your picnic.

ECO DISPOSABLE PLATES & BOWLS:

Yes, the words "eco" and "disposable" don't have to be mutually exclusive from each other. When you can't use your fine china outdoors, do the next best thing: green disposable plates and bowls. One choice is from the everyday value line at Whole Foods called 365. Their 365 dinner and appetizer plates and bowls are made from sugar cane and reed pulp -- a fast-growing, renewable resource -- not virgin paper from trees. The odorless and durable plates can withstand oily and saucy dishes and are totally biodegradable and compostable, too.

PRICE: $2.99

USEFUL UTENSILS:

If you're planning an outdoor party for a crowd, reusing stainless steel utensils and washing them back at home may not be the easiest or cleanest solution. When you are serving a crowd, go green with biodegradable eco-plastics like Cereplast, which is made from starches from potato, wheat or rice, all renewable and biodegradable materials. A set of 240 eco-plastic utensils -- 80 spoons, forks and knives each -- can be safely thrown away in the trash to slowly biodegrade in a landfill or you can toss them in a compost bin, where they'll decompose more quickly.

PRICE: $19/set

THINK REUSABLE & RECYCLED NAPKINS:

Cloth napkins are the greenest choice since they can be washed and used over and over. A good and inexpensive napkin choice is bandanas; they come in a variety of colors and can be found at most outdoor supply and Army/Navy stores.

JUST FOR FUN--DRINKING STRAW ALTERNATIVE

Plastic drinking straws can take hundreds of years to biodegrade. Here's a better and tastier alternative: Twizzler straws. Take Twizzlers candy, snip off the ends, insert into cup and drink. It's that simple. Serve them in tall glasses with spiked punch, or whatever beverage you desire. These are great for children's parties, because kids can eat the straws after they finish their drinks! Twizzlers come in a variety of flavors, so you can try any of these combinations: chocolate Twizzlers with chocolate or regular milk, strawberry Twizzlers with strawberry milk, or licorice-flavored Twizzlers with Sambuca, for adults.

Enjoy the Outdoors!