Party with your carbon footprint in mind

Corn plastic products, reusable bags, less packaging will help go easy on the Earth

By Lou Manfredini

Corn plastic products by NatureWorks (natureworksllc.com) are better for the environment.

After pouring a drink for myself at a recent family get-together, I asked where I could find the recycling bin. "We're not worried about that today," the host answered.

"Not today?" I responded. "Did you know that Americans produced about 251 million tons of trash in 2006?" According to the Environmental Protection Agency, that's about 5 pounds per person every day! (Yes, I drive people nuts with these kinds of factoids.)

We soon found a recycling bin.

"Carbon footprint" is the big buzzword these days -- it relates to the environmental impact an individual or a company has on the planet. Using compact fluorescent light bulbs or Energy Star-rated appliances are ways you can do a lot of good. Still, it's not always cheap (or even convenient) to reduce your carbon footprint.

It is easy, though, to make these changes the next time you throw a big party at your home. Here's how you can celebrate with Mother Nature in mind:

Shop with reusable canvas bags so you don't have to answer the question "Paper or plastic?" Both take up valuable space in landfills.

Choose items that use less packaging -- like fresh instead of packaged food -- and, when possible, buy locally grown products that require less shipping to get them to the store.

Compost food waste, and once it's broken down, you can use it to feed your flowers. Home composting units vary in size from tabletop to large, rotating units for backyards. Bins are available at places such as yardiac.com and composters.com.

Try corn plastic plates, cups, napkins and utensils. Although paper can be recycled, it's a messy job to clean off all of the food scraps. Corn plastic, unlike most conventional plastics, is biodegradable.

Lou Manfredini is a contributor to NBC's "Today show."