Have an environmentally friendly Memorial Day weekend

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of the summer season. Many people celebrate with backyard picnics and parties. The weather is usually nice (though the forecast isn't good for my neck of the woods this weekend) and everyone is ready to be outside in the sun after the winter snows and spring rains. 

In pre-pandemic times, Memorial Day weekend always included parades and outside ceremonies, cemetery visits and backyard barbeques. For some of us across the country, this Memorial Day will hold some of those things, unlike last year. Some of us are still under restrictions, so it might still be more muted than before. However, you celebrate the coming weekend, there are ways to make the experience a little less harmful to the environment. 

Now, you might be thinking, how could Memorial Day weekend be harmful to the environment? Well, mostly in through the trash we leave behind as we go through all the outside events. Parades often involve throwing candy, which ends up as litter, and using more fossil fuels to run trucks and cars. Outside ceremonies can involve metal casings left behind without being recycled, or plastic flags left out to pollute the environment. Backyard barbeques usually involve paper or (worse!) plastic utensils and dishes, which create more trash for the landfill! 

If you'll be participating in any of these kinds of events, think ahead in order to be more environmentally friendly. If you'll be participating in a parade, see if there is a clean up crew to help pick up litter afterwards and volunteer to help. If you'll be participating in an cemetery ceremony, help pick up left behind items for recycling or proper disposal. If you are going to a backyard barbeque, or hosting one, think ahead about bringing your own reusable dishes and containers. Every little bit helps, and you'll be able to talk to others about your choices when they see you whipping out your reusable dishes or bamboo utensil kit. Don't forget cloth napkins either! This is a great way to do some advocacy work for our planet.